<p class="title">Suspended England all-rounder Ben Stokes will make an unlikely debut at New Zealand's tiny Rangiora Recreation Ground this weekend, and his opponents insist they will not be overawed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"He's just another player at the end of the day. It's not like Don Bradman is walking out to bat," deadpanned Otago's Jimmy Neesham ahead of the much anticipated fixture.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Stokes will appear for Canterbury in New Zealand's one-day domestic competition after dashing halfway around the globe in search of a game of cricket.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He was unable to join his England team-mates for the Ashes in Australia after being barred from international cricket over an alleged fight outside a Bristol nightclub.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Needing to stay match-fit in case a police investigation clears the way for a last-minute Ashes call-up, Stokes decided to take the road to Rangiora.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 26-year-old is used to being England's main man, but Otago coach Rob Walter backed his players against one of the best all-round talents currently in the game.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's about being smart and bowling our best balls to him like we would to any other batter," Walter told Fairfax New Zealand.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"He can also get out. It's not as if he's never got out in his life. We've got just as much chance of getting him out."</p>.<p class="bodytext">While Stokes' trip from Britain to New Zealand may have brought him physically closer to the Ashes series, his chances of participating seem as remote as ever.</p>.<p class="bodytext">British police have passed his case to prosecutors for "charging advice", a process that could take weeks as Test cricket's most storied contest continues apace in Australia.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The second Test will be underway in Adelaide when Stokes takes guard in Rangiora, and a worst-case scenario for England would see the Ashes lost in Perth two weeks later.</p>.<p class="bodytext">England selector Angus Fraser indicated the tourists, already down 1-0 in the five-Test series, have to deal with the situation in front of them, not wait for Stokes to arrive and save the day.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"If something changes then you react," he said in London.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"But I don't think anyone is looking over their shoulder for a plane to come in to land."</p>
<p class="title">Suspended England all-rounder Ben Stokes will make an unlikely debut at New Zealand's tiny Rangiora Recreation Ground this weekend, and his opponents insist they will not be overawed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"He's just another player at the end of the day. It's not like Don Bradman is walking out to bat," deadpanned Otago's Jimmy Neesham ahead of the much anticipated fixture.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Stokes will appear for Canterbury in New Zealand's one-day domestic competition after dashing halfway around the globe in search of a game of cricket.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He was unable to join his England team-mates for the Ashes in Australia after being barred from international cricket over an alleged fight outside a Bristol nightclub.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Needing to stay match-fit in case a police investigation clears the way for a last-minute Ashes call-up, Stokes decided to take the road to Rangiora.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 26-year-old is used to being England's main man, but Otago coach Rob Walter backed his players against one of the best all-round talents currently in the game.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's about being smart and bowling our best balls to him like we would to any other batter," Walter told Fairfax New Zealand.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"He can also get out. It's not as if he's never got out in his life. We've got just as much chance of getting him out."</p>.<p class="bodytext">While Stokes' trip from Britain to New Zealand may have brought him physically closer to the Ashes series, his chances of participating seem as remote as ever.</p>.<p class="bodytext">British police have passed his case to prosecutors for "charging advice", a process that could take weeks as Test cricket's most storied contest continues apace in Australia.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The second Test will be underway in Adelaide when Stokes takes guard in Rangiora, and a worst-case scenario for England would see the Ashes lost in Perth two weeks later.</p>.<p class="bodytext">England selector Angus Fraser indicated the tourists, already down 1-0 in the five-Test series, have to deal with the situation in front of them, not wait for Stokes to arrive and save the day.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"If something changes then you react," he said in London.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"But I don't think anyone is looking over their shoulder for a plane to come in to land."</p>