Stokes, Hales not to be considered for selection until further notice

England and Wales Cricket Board have said Ben Stokes and Alex Hales won't be considered for selection in the England side until further notice. The duo, who was involved in the late night brawl outside a pub in Bristol, is being investigated by the police.

The decision comes after a video footage was released by The Sun newspaper which allegedly shows Stokes and Hales in a brawl with two other individuals outside a nightclub in Bristol. The video ends with Stokes punching one of the men to the ground and slapping the other across the face.

An ECB statement read: "Ben Stokes and Alex Hales will not be considered for selection for England international matches until further notice. Each remains on full pay pending further ECB investigation and the ongoing Police investigation into an incident in Bristol in the early hours of Monday 25 September.

"Andrew Strauss, Director of England Cricket, will today refer the internal disciplinary procedure for these two players to the Cricket Discipline Commission, chaired by Tim O'Gorman. These decisions, fully supported by ECB Chairman Colin Graves, were made following the released of footage viewed by ECB for the first time on Wednesday night."

The suspension - for that is what it is - would currently rule Stokes out of the Ashes series this winter but there is a lot to play out before then. It is understood that Stokes will be returning to Bristol to be questioned by Avon & Somerset police under caution and Hales will also be returning to assist police with their enquiries. It remains to be seen whether any charges are levelled.

Yesterday, England coach Trevor Bayliss said he thought the behaviour of Stokes and Hales, both of whom were out drinking until the early hours of Monday morning, were very unprofessional but launched a defence of Stokes' position as Test vice-captain. That was before the ECB was aware of the existence of the video footage and it looks increasingly unlikely that Stokes will retain the vice-captaincy.

Before the footage had been released, Bayliss admitted the situation was "right up there in the top two" of the most difficult situations he had faced during his coaching career. Given he was Sri Lanka's coach in 2009 when their team bus was attacked by terrorists in Pakistan , killing eight people, that is quite a statement. He said it was "very difficult for everyone involved" and "something that we didn't want to go through and hope we don't go through again".

The exact circumstances which led to the altercation are still unknown - there have been various reports of Stokes and Hales being provoked - but ECB acted quickly to rule Hales out of the final ODI at Southampton tomorrow once the footage was published. They had initially confirmed the opener would be available.

Given these latest developments, England may find it tough to concentrate on the final match of the ODI series against Windies. "The resolve the boys have showed to come out and win [the fourth match at the Oval] says a lot about the character of the player in the team," said Bayliss. "The focus for us is to win a series to nil. Having won all the series, it makes it a good summer but we want to finish it off and win 4-0."