Ashes squad: Ben Stokes named in England squad despite arrest as James Vince gets shock recall to face Australia

Joe Root captains a 16-man squad to take on Australia with Stokes confirmed as vice-captain despite his arrest in Bristol on Tuesday morning

England have named Ben Stokes in the squad for this winter’s Ashes series despite his arrest in Bristol in the early hours of Tuesday morning, with three uncapped faces joining him in the side that will take on Australia.

Stokes was arrested and spent the night in jail after allegedly assaulting a 27-year-old man shortly after 2am on Tuesday morning. The Durham all-rounder was released without charge pending an investigation, and he was dropped from England’s fourth One-Day International against West Indies on Wednesday, along with Alex Hales, who was also involved on the night out and returned to Bristol on Tuesday to help police with their inquiries.

However, the England and Wales Cricket Board [ECB] named Stokes in a 16-man squad for the Ashes series, which begins in November, and also confirmed that he will remain vice-captain for the foreseeable future.

Hales has not been included in the Test side, with Mark Stoneman set to continue his opening partnership with Alastair Cook, while Joe Root will captain England in an Ashes series for the first time, having been part of the successful 2013 and 2015 sides as well as the 2013/14 squad that was whitewashed 5-0 on the last tour of Australia.

The surprise, however, comes in the inclusion of James Vince in the 16-man squad. The Hampshire batsman had a high score of just 42 across seven Tests last summer and has not done anything in country cricket this year to suggest he had earned a recall, with just two centuries for his county.

Vince comes into the side for the dropped Tom Westley, axed after only five Tests this summer, and is likely to bat at No 3 behind Cook and Stoneman, ahead of captain Root. The three uncapped players come in wicketkeeper Ben Foakes – who will likely deputise for Jonny Bairstow – leg-break bowler Mason Crane, who made a substitute fielder appearance during the Test series against the West Indies and took a tremendous catch to dismiss Roston Chase at Headingley, and Somerset pace bowler Craig Overton.

Gary Ballance is also called up for the third time as the selectors keep faith with the out-of-form batsman, following his recovery from a broken thumb, and he joins Dawid Malan in making up the remainder of the batting options.

Jake Ball is also named in the side, with the Nottinghamshire bowler providing the extra pace and bounce that will be needed Down Under on the notoriously harder pitches. The only issue for Wood is that been plagued by injuries of late and could be seen as a bit of a risk when travelling to the other side of the world.

The rest of the bowling attack is as expected, with James Anderson and Stuart Broad leading the attack that is also likely to include Chris Woakes and all-rounder Moeen Ali, who is set to be England’s front-line spin bowler following his summer heroics against South Africa and the West Indies.

The ECB also confirmed that former England all-rounder Paul Collingwood will take up a coaching role with the side for the Ashes series, with the 41-year-old also due to remain with the squad for the following ODIs, while former New Zealand international Shane Bond has been named as fast-bowling consultant for the first and second Tests.

Full England squad to face Australia:

Joe Root, Alastair Cook, Mark Stone, Dawid Malan, Gary Balance, James Vince, Moeen Ali, Mason Crane, Ben Foakes, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jake Ball, Craig Overton.