Ben Stokes added to England's squad for Ashes

As per the statement issued by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Stokes has been given an all-clear by his consultant and ECB medical team to resume training following his second operation on a fractured left index finger.

England will play their first Ashes Test in Brisbane on 8 December and Stokes will depart with his fellow teammates on 4 November.

In order to prioritise his mental wellbeing and nurse a finger injury, the star all-rounder had opted for a break from competitive cricket at the end of July when he was last seen participating in England’s franchise competition – The Hundred.

“I had a break to prioritise my mental wellbeing and I got my finger sorted,” Stokes was quoted saying in the ECB. “I am looking forward to seeing my mates and being on the field with them. I’m ready for Australia.”

"Following a very successful operation on his finger and several conversations over the last few weeks between Ben and I, our medical staff and his management team, Ben called me to say he was ready to return to cricket and was excited about the prospect of playing a significant role in the Ashes series," said Ashley Giles, Managing Director of England Men's Cricket.

"Time and time again, Ben has demonstrated how important he is to the England team and having him available for the Ashes series is excellent news for all of us and, in particular, Chris (Silverwood), Joe (Root) and the rest of the players.

"Having not played for some time, we will move forward cautiously over the next few weeks to ensure he is fully prepared across all facets of his game.

"Ahead of a very busy period of cricket, we continue to remain mindful of the stresses on all our personnel, and our primary focus continues to be the wellbeing of all of our players and support staff."

England squad: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.