England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been found not guilty of affray following an incident outside a Bristol nightclub.
The England star is finally a free man now, walking out of Bristol Crown Court after surviving perhaps the longest and toughest innings of his life. The court’s verdict ended the week-long proceedings. The jury unanimously found Stokes not guilty. Stokes was arrested and charged with affray following an incident outside a bar in Bristol last September.
His fellow defendant Ryan Ali has also been found not guilty.
Stokes had punched former soldier Ryan Hale, 27, and fireman Ryan Ali, 28 during the boozy brawl. He was also accused of mocking the “camp behaviour” of two gay men.
Stokes told Bristol Crown Court he had been acting in self-defence and was defending two gay men during the fracas.
The jury took under three hours to acquit both men. Stokes’ career has been on hold during the court proceedings. He missed England’s second Test victory over India at Lord’s, and failed to get a place in the 13-man squad for the third Test at Trent Bridge, which starts on Saturday.
Stokes, however, is still not completely free to get selected in England team. He now faces the outcome of a cricket disciplinary case, which had been on hold pending the conclusion of criminal proceedings. His England team-mate Alex Hales, who was present outside the nightclub but never charged, will also face the same disciplinary hearing.
In his closing statements in court, Stokes’s barrister Gordon Cole stated that all the evidence presented against Stokes were ambiguous. The prosecutor had gone on to shift the focus towards Hales.
“You will see Mr Hales on one occasion appearing to kick. So, when the prosecution seeks to hang all the blame at Ben Stokes’s door by saying he rendered people unconscious, just look at what happened.
“Think about kicks and stamps. Does it follow that all of these injuries are properly attributed to Ben Stokes? We say no. We say that the evidence is ambiguous,” he had said.
Meanwhile, the ECB is likely to take into account that Stokes has already missed the Ashes tour as a result of the episode when it conducts its own proceedings.