Ben Stokes will make his long-awaited return to cricket in New Zealand this weekend, but England's star allrounder appears as far away from playing in the Ashes as ever.

But the ECB's latest move could see Stokes making an unexpected appearance on Australian shores, albeit one that would see him facing the white ball rather than wearing whites.

QUICK SINGLE Stokes given green light for NZ return

The ECB's issuing of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to Stokes to play in New Zealand's domestic competition could pave the way for the New Zealand-born allrounder to feature in this summer's KFC Big Bash League.

Possible, but unlikely. Stokes did have a stint with the Melbourne Renegades in BBL|04, taking three wickets and striking 128 runs in four games. Yet with the BBL|07 season starting on December 19, clubs are well advanced with their rosters and have locked up their international imports.

The one exception is the Perth Scorchers, who have opted to fill just one of their two international slots, with England allrounder David Willey. And now with Jason Behrendorff facing an uncertain short-term future following his latest back injury, there could be a spot on the roster that may have the Scorchers enquiring if the flame-haired allrounder might want to continue keeping match fit while wearing Perth's burn orange.

QUICK SINGLE Scorchers sign Willey as lone international

It is now more than two months since Stokes last took to the field during England's third one-day international against West Indies in Bristol on September 24, scoring 73 with the bat to help his side to a 124-run win.

Celebrations later that evening in the city took a turn for the worse when the 26-year-old was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm following an incident in which a man sustained a fractured eye socket. He was later released under investigation.

WATCH: Alleged footage of Stokes' Bristol brawl

The England & Wales Cricket Board subsequently made Stokes "unavailable" for international selection. But that has not stopped him being granted the NOC to play for Canterbury, whom he will make his debut for in Christchurch, the city of his birth, in Sunday's domestic 50-over match against Otago.

There is no doubt the fact Stokes will be back playing again – and so close to Australia – adds intrigue to the theory that he will play some part in the Magellan Ashes series, which resumes on Saturday with the second Test at the Adelaide Oval.

However, the announcement on Wednesday UK time by Avon & Somerset Police that it had completed its investigation and sent the findings to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was not great for his prospects of participating in the Ashes.

The ECB reiterated in Adelaide on Thursday that there will be no change to their stance that Stokes remains unavailable for selection until a decision on whether to charge him or not has been made.

Given the quickest the CPS could come to a decision is around a fortnight, it means Stokes is all but out of the picture for the third Ashes Test in Perth starting on December 14.

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He could still theoretically be in contention for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne but even then, that would need the wheels of justice to turn quickly, and Stokes would probably need to avoid getting charged.

If he is charged, it is unlikely the ECB would feel comfortable selecting him.

Whatever the scenario – and regardless of how many runs he scores for Canterbury over the coming weeks – it now seems extremely unlikely Stokes will be available for any part of this summer's Ashes.

Privately, England's players have pretty much come to terms with that fact and they are preparing as if that will be the case.

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Canterbury, meanwhile, confirmed they had signed Stokes just hours after his case was referred by British police to the CPS.

Gary Stead, the Christchurch-based club's director of cricket, said: "After the approach from Ben's representatives everything has happened very quickly for us to the extent that we are now delighted to welcome Ben into the team.

"Ben will bring international experience to what is a relatively youthful changing room."

For England, though, the absence of Stokes during this Ashes series could prove terminal for their hopes of retaining the urn.

2017-18 International Fixtures

Magellan Ashes Series

Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers.

England Test squad: Joe Root (c), James Anderson (vc), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Ben Foakes, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes.

First Test Australia won by 10 wickets. Scorecard

Second Test Adelaide Oval, December 2-6 (Day-Night). Tickets

Third Test WACA Ground, December 14-18. Tickets

Fourth Test MCG, December 26-30. Tickets

Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Tickets

Gillette ODI Series v England

First ODI MCG, January 14. Tickets

Second ODI Gabba, January 19. Tickets

Third ODI SCG, January 21. Tickets

Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26. Tickets

Fifth ODI Perth Stadium, January 28. Tickets

Prime Minister's XI

PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Tickets

Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3. Tickets

Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Tickets

Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Tickets

Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21