Stokes hope starts to fade
THE chances of Ben Stokes playing in the Ashes appeared to recede last night when police passed the investigation into September’s Bristol street brawl to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Less than 24 hours after the England all- rounder landed in New Zealand to visit family and play for the first time since being arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm, Avon and Somerset Police concluded their probe and handed the evidence to the CPS for a decision over charges.
An Avon and Somerset Police statement read: “A 27year- old man suffered a fractured eye socket in the incident. A 26- year- old man was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm and was later released under investigation. Three other men, aged 26, 27 and 28, have all voluntarily attended police stations for interview.”
Prosecutors must now de- cide whether the files contain strong enough evidence to provide a reasonable chance of a conviction in court, while weighing up what Stokes’ defence case might be.
Video footage emerged of the early hours altercation on September 25, which appeared to show him throwing a number of punches. However, two gay men have since gone public with claims that the fight was sparked after Stokes and England one- day teammate Alex Hales – who were out celebrating the win over West In- dies in Bristol – came to their defence when they became victims of homophobic abuse.
Stokes flew to Christchurch on Monday and intends to play a one- day game for Canterbury this Sunday in a bid to be match- fit for England, should he face no charge.
The Bulletin understands the finger he fractured in the Bristol incident has fully healed and he is ready to go after practising for the past five weeks.
But he remains in limbo due to uncertainty over how long it will take the CPS to reach a decision. Even if they do not recommend charges, he would still need to be given the green light to resume playing by the ECB’s cricket discipline commission.
Although the Bulletin is aware any ban would be retrospective – to include two ODIs against the West Indies plus the first two Ashes Tests – the ECB will want to be seen to be following their own potentially time- consuming disciplinary procedures.