Stokes named in England's T20I squad

Besieged England allrounder Ben Stokes has again been provisionally named in an England squad, this time for next month's Gillette T20 tri-series.

Stokes, who is still waiting to see if he'll be charged over his alleged involvement in a Bristol street brawl in September, has been included in England's 16-player squad for the seven-game series which involves matches against Australia and New Zealand on both sides of the Tasman.

Stokes played no part in England's Magellan Ashes campaign due to the ongoing police investigation and was recently replaced by Dawid Malan for the upcoming Gillette one-day international series in Australia.

The England and Wales Cricket Board reiterated that they would convene within 48 hours to make a decision on Stokes' international return should he be either charged or cleared in the coming weeks.

Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow, both of whom have played in all five Tests against Australia and are set to take part in the ODI series, have been rested from the T20 series.

Speedster Mark Wood, Test No.3 James Vince and Sydney Sixers wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Billings have all been included in the squad, which will be led by limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan.

The only other Test players to be selected for the T20 series are batsmen Joe Root and Malan, along with quick Tom Curran.

"The T20 Tri-Series will be very competitive against quality opposition in Australia and New Zealand," chairman of selectors James Whitaker said.

"Our limited overs cricket has been progressing nicely across both formats so this tournament will be another indicator on where we are heading as a team over the long-term. 

"Our aim is to become the best T20 side in the world and a strong performance in this series will give us the chance to progress up the team rankings.

"We felt with that it was important for Dawid Malan and Joe Root, who have had an intense period of Test cricket over the past few months, to play in the series and continue to develop their T20 experience and skills."

England are ranked fourth on the International Cricket Council's T20 International charts – above seventh-placed Australia but below top-ranked New Zealand – and made the final of the last World T20 in 2016.

After a warm-up match against the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra on February 2, they have matches against Australia in Hobart and Melbourne and then New Zealand in Wellington and Hamilton.

The final will be held at Auckland's Eden Park on February 21.

England squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Mark Wood

2017-18 International Fixtures

Magellan Ashes Series

Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, 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 Australia won by an innings and 41 runs. Scorecard

Fourth Test Match drawn. Tickets

Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Scorecard

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