Ben Stokes added to England squad 'for his own wellbeing' - Trevor Bayliss - BBC Sport
England all-rounder Ben Stokes was added to the squad for the third Test against India "for his own wellbeing", says coach Trevor Bayliss.
Last updated on .From the section Cricket

The decision to add Ben Stokes to the England squad for the third Test against India starting on Saturday was taken for the all-rounder's "wellbeing", says coach Trevor Bayliss.

However, he said he would take time before deciding whether the 27-year-old would play at Trent Bridge.

Stokes was involved in a fracas in Bristol last September but was found not guilty of affray on Tuesday.

"I'm happy for Ben and glad it's all over," Bayliss said.

"It's good to have him back around the squad."

On Thursday, former England captain Michael Vaughan expressed surprise that Stokes had not taken a break from the game following Tuesday's verdict.

Bayliss said "a collective decision" was taken to reintroduce Stokes, who was omitted when an unchanged squad was named on Monday.

He said: "Myself, the management, the captain, [stand-in director of England cricket] Andy Flower, the board - everyone had a bit of a say and basically thought for his wellbeing it was good to get him back around the cricket."

Bayliss said he would assess Stokes before deciding whether the Durham player would play in the third match of the five-Test series, which England lead 2-0.

"We'll see how he is mentally as well as physically. He's not played for a couple of weeks. It's a difficult decision whoever misses out, whether it's Ben or anyone else," Bayliss added.

"It's a good position to be in. It's a position we've been trying to get into for a while. Whether he plays or not, we've got some guys in good form in the team."

India coach Ravi Shastri welcomed the prospect of Stokes' inclusion at Trent Bridge and said he would pick the all-rounder if he were in Bayliss' position.

"We focus on cricket. He's a terrific cricketer," said Shastri. "We like to play against top cricketers. It's as simple as that.

"He's been cleared by the courts. What's the reason for him not to play?"

Stokes missed England's 2018-19 tour of Australia while his role in September's incident in Bristol was being investigated, before returning to the team for England's tour of New Zealand in the spring.

Bayliss said Stokes apologised to his team-mates when he initially rejoined the squad.

"From our point of view, his contrition was evident for the boys in the team," he said.

"It was important to actually apologise to the boys in the team, management of the team and management at the ECB, who had to go through a lot of extra activities to work our way through it."

Asked whether Stokes should now make a public apology, Bayliss said: "Certainly. I'm sure something will be forthcoming.

"That'll be up to Ben and his management team, I suppose."
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'We've done a lot of work with team culture'

Bayliss, England head coach since 2015, said the Stokes case - combined with disciplinary issues during England's tour of Australia last winter - had prompted the team to reflect on its behaviour.

"Since the incident we've done a lot of work with team culture and that's ongoing - changes with curfews and that type of thing," he said.

"We had an incident we'd rather have not happened and we've thought we needed to do something different.

"There were a couple of small indiscretions in Australia after that incident and I think the players have finally woken up. They've learned their lesson and the way they go about their profession has been top class."