ENGLAND all-rounder Ben Stokes is to appear in court on an affray charge — the same day he was supposed to be making his international comeback in a Twenty20 match in New Zealand.

Avon and Somerset Police said today that Stokes is due at Bristol magistrates’ court on February 13 to face the charge, brought following an incident outside a nightclub in the city in September.

The 26-year-old, who missed the Ashes after being suspended from playing for England, is accused of affray alongside two other men.