BEN STOKES looks set to be handed a new central contract with England despite his street brawl arrest last month.
The Durham all-rounder, 26, was arrested on suspicion on causing actual bodily harm on a night out in Bristol following a one-day international win over the West Indies.
Yet Stokes will be one of around ten players to be handed the top deal by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Friday.
The central contracts were set to be announced on Wednesday, but were pushed back 48 hours in light of Stokes’ arrest, to tinker with the off-field behaviour terms and conditions.
Meanwhile Alex Hales, who is voluntarily being interviewed by police regarding Stokes’ bust-up, looks set to keep hold of his incremental contract.
While the ECB have suspended Stokes, who is set to get married this month, indefinitely, they know they need to support their star man while the judicial process is carried out.
Stokes is still waiting to learn his fate as to whether he will be charged by police after appeared to “throw 15 punches” during the clash in Bristol.
His – and England’s – hopes in the Ashes, which start in Australia next month, rely heavily on the severity of any potential charges brought Stokes’ way by police.
While the winter series Down Under doesn’t get under way until November, the squad – which Stokes has been provisionally named in – leave on October 28.
Following the shocking incident in which Stokes broke a finger, the England star later claimed to be “devastated and fragile”.
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The Sun's exclusive footage shows a clubber as he clutches a bottle before he appears to be disarmed by Stokes, wearing a green T-shirt, dark trousers and white trainers.
The cricketer then exchanges a series of blows with the pair.
After knocking the bottle man to the ground he appears to slap the second man around the face.
England one-day team-mate Hales is heard urging Stokes to calm down in the video.
A witness told The Sun: “I saw Stokes throw 15 punches in one minute. No wonder he broke a finger.”
A man, 27, was taken to hospital with facial injuries after the brawl in Bristol at 2.30am last Monday.
Dad-of-two Stokes spent the night in cells and was quizzed on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm and later released on bail.
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