Ben Stokes should publicly apologise and faces two-day wait to learn Test selection fate, says Trevor Bayliss

Stokes was found not guilty of affray and could play in England's third Test match against India on Saturday

England head coach Trevor Bayliss has called on Ben Stokes to make a public apology, and confirmed that the ECB will decide over the next two days whether to select him for the third Test against India which starts on Saturday.

Stokes was recently found not guilty of affray following a late-night street fight in Bristol last September, but he and teammate Alex Hales remain the subject of a Cricket Discipline Commission investigation.

Bayliss revealed that Stokes apologised to the England squad and said he should “certainly” make a public apology.

Stokes will wait to find out if he will be included in the team to face India on Saturday (PA)

“I think 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,” he said.

When pushed whether he thinks Stoke should make his comments to the team public, Bayliss added: “That’ll be up to Ben and his management team, I suppose.

“But certainly, when he came out to New Zealand after the Ashes tour that he missed, he addressed the players in the changing room when he first arrived. So from our point of view, his contribution was evident for the boys in the team.”

Stokes was in fine form against India in the first Test (Getty Images)

Stokes scored 27 runs and took six wickets in the first Test, including bowling out Virat Kohli which all but handed England the win at Edgbaston. The all-rounder was in court while England doubled their series lead with victory at rain-hit Lord’s.

Adil Rashid might be the player which Stokes replaces in the squad, given the Yorkshire spinner neither bowled nor batted in the second Test, but Bayliss says he will have to assess whether he is ready to return.

Ollie Pope is also vulnerable to being dropped. The 20-year-old was drafted into the side and made his debut in the second Test, but a growing appreciation of all-rounders in the team means the young Surrey batsman could make way.

“It’s good to have him back around the squad,” said Bayliss of Stokes’ return. “I’m happy for Ben and glad it’s all over. I haven’t actually spoken to him since...but I’ve got the next two days to assess where he’s at.

“It’s a difficult decision whoever misses out, whether it’s Ben or anyone else. It’s a position we’ve been trying to get into for a while. We have some good young players coming in.”

On Stokes’ recall to the squad, the Australian continued: “It was a collective decision. Myself, the management, the captain, Andy Flower, the board – everyone had a bit of a say and basically thought for his (Stokes’) own wellbeing it was good to get him back around the cricket.

“There’s nothing automatic about selections, 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 to make.”

England Test captain Joe Root and One-Day skipper Eoin Morgan are preparing to impose a new code of conduct as Bayliss addresses the team’s culture.

“Since the incident we’ve done a lot of work with team culture with the two captains – and that’s ongoing. Changes with curfews and that type of thing,” Bayliss said of the new proposals.

“In the past all the other teams I’ve been involved with and this one, when I arrived, would treat teams like adults and they (players) will respond like it.

“For a team on the road 11 months out of 12, we had an incident we’d rather have not happened to a degree 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.”