3 more England cricketers punished for misbehavior

Photo: AP

London: Three more England cricketers were punished Friday for off-field misbehavior, a week after Ben Stokes and Alex Hales were suspended from national-team duty following an incident on a night out.

Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball and Liam Plunkett each accepted a written warning and were handed an undisclosed fine, the England and Wales Cricket Board said, following an investigation into their "unprofessional conduct" during the recent ODI series against the West Indies.

The investigation was unrelated to that involving Stokes and Hales, who have been suspended on full pay and are the subject of a separate disciplinary hearing.

Stokes was arrested after video footage purportedly showed England's Test vice-captain throwing punches in a street fight. Hales was out with Stokes that night and both are under investigation.

As it stands, Stokes will not travel with England for the upcoming tour of Australia despite being selected in the squad. England's players fly out on Oct. 28 and the tour starts Nov. 4 and fast bowler Steve Finn will instead join the England’s Ashes squad.

"No final decision has been taken on his involvement in Australia," England said Friday about Stokes.

To cover for the potential absence of Stokes, England added fast bowler Steven Finn to its 16-man test squad for the Ashes series.

Stokes and Hales did have their central contracts renewed, however.