Ben Stokes: England all-rounder in talks with NZ side Canterbury

Ben Stokes made his Test debut in Australia in 2013

New Zealand side Canterbury have held talks with Ben Stokes after the England all-rounder was seen at Heathrow airport on Monday.

Stokes, 26, is not part of England's Ashes tour after being arrested on suspicion of actual bodily harm in September.

There was widespread speculation on social media that he was heading to Australia after being pictured at the airport.

That prompted the England and Wales Cricket Board to issue a statement denying he was joining up with the squad and confirming he was travelling to New Zealand to spend time with his family.

"Following the recent speculation surrounding Ben Stokes coming to New Zealand, Canterbury cricket can now confirm that they have been in initial informal discussions with Ben Stokes' representatives regarding his potential availability," a Canterbury statement said.

Canterbury coach Gary Stead added: "We had been in talks with his agent about possibly coming to play here but there's still a bit of water to go under the bridge, I hope we can make it work. The Ashes wasn't discussed."

The club have a board meeting on Wednesday when the issue will be discussed.

Canterbury's next fixture is on Sunday, which is the second day of the second Ashes Test.

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Speaking on Wednesday, England bowler Chris Woakes told BBC Sport: "It would be great to see Ben back doing what he loves and what he is good at. Who knows, there is still a police investigation going on. We'd have him here with open arms, it would be silly for us not to want to welcome him back."

England, the Ashes holders, lost the first Test against Australia by 10 wickets in Brisbane.

Stokes was arrested for his part in an incident outside a Bristol nightclub following England's third one-day international victory against West Indies.

He is still awaiting the outcome of the police investigation and is free to travel outside of the UK.

Though he was initially named in the Ashes squad, he was subsequently told he would not be selected by England "until further notice".

After Stokes was seen at Heathrow, an England statement said: "The ECB is aware that Ben Stokes is making a private trip to New Zealand to spend time with his family. His travel arrangements have not been arranged by the ECB.

"He is not on his way to the Ashes, England Lions or any other official training camps with the England set-up."

Stokes, who was born in New Zealand, was given permission by the ECB to travel on Friday.

Canterbury meet Otago in a 50-over match on Sunday.

Canterbury CEO Jeremy Curwin said: "The CCA Board and New Zealand Cricket will independently be considering this issue in the near future but, until then, we are unable to provide any more detail on the status of the deliberations.

"As and when there are any further developments we will of course release further statements."