England are preparing for Ben Stokes to be absent from this winter’s Ashes defence after adding Steven Finn to the squad and stating that their Test vice-captain and talismanic all-rounder will not be travelling to Australia with his team-mates at the end of the month.

Joe Root’s side fly to Perth on 28 October but with Stokes still being investigated by police over his involvement in a street fight in Bristol 11 days ago – an update on which is not expected for at least a fortnight – the England and Wales Cricket Board has moved to outline a revised plan.

In an advisory email issued on Friday, the ECB said that “as it stands” Stokes will remain in the country but stressed that “no final decision has been made” regarding his Ashes involvement. Andrew Strauss, the England director of cricket, spoke to Stokes to assure him this decision does not pre-judge either any criminal proceedings or the internal disciplinary procedure that will follow it.

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Strauss said: “It’s important to give the players, coaching staff and supporters some clarity around a complex situation. This decision will help us in the weeks ahead and give every player and the whole setup the best chance to focus on the challenge ahead.

“Steven Finn is a high-quality cricketer, with considerable experience of both international cricket and Australian conditions. The selectors believe he will add to the range of options and the squad will be further supported by the arrival of the Lions in Australia in November.”

Both Stokes and Alex Hales, who was present at the time of the incident on 25 September that saw the former arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm, before being released under investigation, are currently indefinitely suspended on full pay. But, as expected, the pair saw their respective England Test and limited overs central contracts renewed by the ECB.

As part of the fallout from the ill-fated night in Bristol that followed the third one-day international with West Indies, three England players – Jake Ball, Liam Plunkett and Jonny Bairstow – have also been issued with formal warnings and undisclosed fines for “unprofessional conduct”.

The trio, who have seen a chunk of their wages go to two cricket-related charities, had separated from Stokes and Hales before the incident took place but a dim view was taken by the ECB as to their late return to the team hotel, despite no official curfew being in place from the team management.

Stokes and Hales meanwhile must wait for the police investigation into events near the Mbargo nightclub that morning to conclude before they go in front of the Cricket Discipline Commission – an independent panel chaired by the former Derbyshire player turned lawyer Tim O’Gorman.

Finn’s inclusion comes on the same day he was bumped down from the list of full Test contracts along with Durham’s Mark Wood. But it follows an encouraging end to the season with Middlesex when the 6ft 7in seamer took eight for 79 against Lancashire at Lord’s, albeit in a campaign that ended with his team’s relegation to Division Two of the County Championship.

Needless to say Finn does not represent a like-for-like replacement for Stokes – no understudy capable of batting in the top six and bowling at 85mph exists in the English game – but his presence bolsters England’s seam options and comes four years after he was dubbed “unselectable” by the then one-day coach Ashley Giles at the end of the 2013-14 tour of Australia.

Should Stokes, as currently expected, be missing from the side that takes the field for the first Test in Brisbane on 23 November, it is likely Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes will all move up a spot in the batting order. Finn, Jake Ball or the uncapped Craig Overton, would then slot in to provide additional bowling support to Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson.

Test Match contracts for 2017-18

Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes

Limited-overs contracts

Moeen Ali, Jake Ball, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan, Liam Plunkett, Joe Root, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Incremental contract Toby Roland-Jones.