England cricketer Ben Stokes was found not guilty of affray over a fight outside a nightclub which prosecutors said had left two men unconscious.
Stokes, 27, was accused of knocking unconscious two men, Ryan Ali and Ryan Hale, in a brawl in Bristol, southwest England, last September just hours after he had played in a one-day international against the West Indies.
Prosecutors said the all-rounder, who helped England to victory in the first Test against India this month but missed the second match because of the trial, had lost control after drinking heavily earlier in the night.
After being refused entry to the Mbargo nightclub, the cricketer had abused the doorman and then mocked two openly gay men, the court was told. Stokes, who was with fellow England international Alex Hales, then got into a fight with Ali and Hale.
Stokes, who denied the charge, told the jury he had been acting in self-defence after stepping in to defend the gay couple who had been on the receiving end of homophobic abuse.
He said he had not been drunk but admitted he could not remember what had been said.
The jury heard that Stokes had been in the nightclub earlier in the evening and had tried to return after it had stopped allowing entry, offering the doorman a bribe, but had been refused entry.
The doorman said Stokes had become aggressive and insulted him before the altercation occurred. Footage from closed circuit TV and from a witness’s mobile phone showed the cricketer throwing a number of punches during the incident.
Ali, 28, was found not guilty of affray while Hale was acquitted of the same charge part way through the trial at Bristol Crown Court.
Stokes missed England’s Ashes tour to Australia last winter but returned to the national side in February.
Just Nuisance
Guest
Late to the discussion but being found not guilty does not automatically default to being innocent. I saw the footage as did everyone else. I saw a thug in a street fight.
Mal Cornet
Roar Rookie
If he was poor , he’d be sentenced for 3 yrs. the law protects their own
James
Guest
Why is there so little mention of the fact that one of the guys had a broken bottle at the start of the fight? I get that it doesnt fit the story as well and that the English tabloid loves to take people down a peg but that changes a hell of alot as far as i can tell. Regardless, people who know way more about this than us and actually know the facts have found him not guilty, case closed dont see how English cricket can do anything to him after that and shouldnt anyways.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Hey, the guy I sit next to at work is English and he's as shocked as anyone that Stokes got off. This isn't an Australia v England thing here.
Oz_Pat
Guest
Aussie cricket teams have been filled with borish yobs for the past 3 decades. Warner, Ponting, Warne, Symonds etc were worshipped. And yet when an England player gets into trouble the halo comes out and the moral preaching starts Kind of makes you understand why Aussie cricket fans aren't the most popular around the world
Homer Gain
Guest
Aussie objections to a guy using his fists in a fair fight against a couple of yobs (armed with bottles) seem surprising. What has happened to Aussie manhood? Presumably, it took flight along with Ian Chappell that famous day in a Melbourne bar in 1977.
Oz_Pat
Guest
Could be worse Diplomatt......at least he's not a cheat!
Diplomatt
Guest
Either way being the recidivist that he is, he'll be back. Much like Cipriani. I'm guessing a DV related incident will be next.
Diplomatt
Guest
Such reliable witnesses that even the defence couldn't rely on them. Says a lot.
JimmyB
Guest
Haha, okey dokey.
JohnB
Guest
Council, that's possibly because neither the defence nor prosecution was prepared to call them (the 2 gay people involved) to testify because, according to UK press reports, they'd changed their stories so much they were considered completely unreliable as witnesses. The article also doesn't mention that it came out at the trial that Stokes had allegedly flicked his cigarette butt at the same 2 gay people before the fracas, which kind of affects the narrative also. The one thing that can be said with certainty out of all this is that Stokes was acquitted. Try to go further than that and it rapidly starts to get a lot hazier.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Not even a stretch. They didn't want him to go to gaol. Job done.
JimmyB
Guest
Err no it’s not.
JimmyB
Guest
For Ben Stokes read David Warner. I didn’t suggest we were morally superior, I simply replied that we were superior in every measurable way (which encompasses morality obviously) and as of yet, no Aussie has disagreed with me...;)
JimmyB
Guest
Anyone for tinfoil?
JimmyB
Guest
Although Stokes is probably on the goon port.
Scott Campbell
Guest
Some of the footage clearly showed Stokes swinging at two men in turn when they both had hands down around waist high in no way threatening him. In this footage it looked like he "king hit" them. Obviously this footage did not show the full story, but taken in isolation it would be hard to see how it would not be very strong evidence. He must have had a good legal team and some of his testimony I read sounded like he stayed "on script" very well.
Diplomatt
Guest
Incorrect.
Gnasher
Guest
...because he had been in earlier, had left, and was refused entry on his return (after 2am).
Joey Johns
Roar Guru
That’s because they drink port