England allrounder finally finds form with the bat in his latest outing for New Zealand side Canterbury
Stokes smacks 93 in NZ Twenty20
Ben Stokes has scored at almost two runs a ball, but has fallen seven short of a century in a return to form in his latest appearance for New Zealand club Canterbury.
After a spate of batting woes - the allrounder was run out after just one ball on Sunday and scored only two the previous weekend - the 26-year-old on Thursday smashed six fours and seven sixes in his innings.
His 93 off 47 balls helped Canterbury to 9-217 in their domestic T20 Super Smash match against Otago in Christchurch.
Coming in at No.4, the Englishman helped steady the ship after Otago has grabbed two quick wickets in the third over.
He eventually fell in the last of the 20 overs - caught by Neil Broom off the bowling of Jacob Duffy, who took five wickets.
Canterbury won the game by 134 runs, with Stokes bowling two overs to finish with 1-17.
Stokes was not part of England's Ashes touring squad after being arrested on September 25 on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm in Bristol.
The Crown Prosecution Service is assessing evidence from Avon and Somerset Police so a decision can be made on whether he should face charges over the nightclub incident.
2017-18 International Fixtures
Magellan Ashes Series
Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird.
England Test squad: Joe Root (c), James Anderson (vc), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Ben Foakes, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes.
First Test Australia won by 10 wickets. Scorecard
Second Test Australia won by 120 runs (Day-Night). Scorecard
Third Test WACA Ground, December 14-18. Tickets
Fourth Test MCG, December 26-30. Tickets
Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Tickets
Gillette ODI Series v England
First ODI MCG, January 14. Tickets
Second ODI Gabba, January 19. Tickets
Third ODI SCG, January 21. Tickets
Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26. Tickets
Fifth ODI Perth Stadium, January 28. Tickets
Prime Minister's XI
PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Tickets
Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series
First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3. Tickets
Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Tickets
Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Tickets
Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 14
Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16
Sixth T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18
Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21