Ben Stokes last night flew to New Zealand where he looks set to return to cricket by playing for Canterbury on Sunday. Stokes is still under police investigation in the UK over his role in a street brawl in Bristol in September.

He was photographed with his cricket equipment at Heathrow last night, initially sparking speculation on social media that he might be flying to join his England team-mates, even though he is still suspended by the ECB over the Bristol incident.

But Andrew Strauss, the ECB director of cricket, is understood to have told Stokes that playing for Canterbury would not breach his suspension, which covers playing for England. They have Ford 50-over Trophy one-day matches on the next two weekends before the Super