DURHAM cricketer Ben Stokes has been warned he could damage his England career if he does not "grow up".

Stokes was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm after an incident in Bristol early on Monday morning, then released without charge but under investigation.

Former England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan both believe the 26-year-old needs to take responsibility for his actions, especially with such a high-profile tour of Australia looming.

Hussain wrote in the Daily Mail: "Ben Stokes has the world at his feet and is well on the way to becoming a very special - not to mention very well rewarded - cricketer. But he cannot keep flirting with the self-destruct button while getting himself into such damaging scrapes.

"It has reached the point where it could damage the career of a potentially great England cricketer "He has to learn to walk away or not put himself into an environment where this can happen.

"He is not going out looking to pick a fight with anyone but it is just how he is. It makes him very vulnerable when outside the cricket environment.

"Just look at where he is going next because if this sort of thing can happen in Bristol then it could happen anywhere in Australia during the Ashes tour.

"Ben Stokes has to grow up. The bottom line is, for all the advice and support he will be receiving right now, it's down to him. He just has far too much going for him to throw it all away."

Stokes has found himself at the centre of unbecoming incidents in the past, having been arrested in 2011 for obstructing police on a night out and ultimately cautioned, before being sent home from an England Lions tour in Australia alongside a team-mate for repeatedly flouting rules on late-night drinking.

And Vaughan believes Stokes must learn to be streetwise off the field.

"Ben Stokes can't say he was not warned," he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

"People have said to him, 'There is only one person who can ruin your career and that is you. Nobody else.'

"In time we could be describing him as a cricketing genius. But he has to understand that if he wants to be a superstar, and go over to India, earn huge IPL contracts and keep them, he has to be careful off the field.

"On the field he is a streetwise cricketer. But he is not streetwise off the pitch and that could be his downfall. I am hoping this is his lesson."

Alec Stewart, another former England captain, would still take Stokes to Australia as vice-captain this winter but added to the calls for the Durham all-rounder to take more responsibility.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "At the moment 100% you pick him and he stays vice-captain until more details come out. But I'd also be sitting him down and say, 'responsibility'.

"Once you've taken a position of leadership, massive responsibility comes with that role.

"He just needs to learn and learn fast. He's had a couple of hiccups when he was younger. Now he's just got to make sure we're not talking about this again in six months or even six years.

"There are some sympathies with Ben, he is a high-profile sportsman, he will be recognised, there will always be someone who wants a cheap shot but he has to make sure he reacts in the right way."