Canterbury Cricket Club chief executive Jeremy Curwin has confirmed that talks are underway with Ben Stokes's representatives over his availability to play domestic cricket in New Zealand.
The England all-rounder was ruled out of his national side's opening Ashes Test with Australia due to an ongoing police investigation, relating to a street brawl in Bristol two months ago.
Stokes was spotted at London Heathrow airport on Monday evening, though, leading to suggestions that he is heading Down Under in preparation for England's next Test outing.
However, it has since emerged that the 26-year-old is instead due to touch down in New Zealand, where he may be given the chance to get some competitive action under his belt with Canterbury.
Asked about the prospect of taking Stokes on board, 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."
England, beaten by 10 wickets in their Ashes opener, return to action in the early hours of Saturday morning.
