ECB suspends Stokes and Hales as video footage of ‘brawl’ leaked
LONDON: England suspended allrounder Ben Stokes and opener Alex Hales from international cricket until further notice. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement that both Stokes and Hales remained on full pay pending further investigation into the incident.
“Ben Stokes and Alex Hales will not be considered for selection for England international matches until further notice,” the ECB said.
The immediate effect of the suspension is to rule both out of Friday’s final One-day International against West Indies in Southampton.
Stokes’s inclusion for the Ashes tour of Australia was under renewed scrutiny after the Sun newspaper published video footage purporting to show him engaged in a street brawl.
The Test vice-captain was included in England’s 16-man Ashes squad led by skipper Joe Root announced earlier on Wednesday, despite injuring his hand in the incident that led to his arrest in Bristol on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm.
The 26-year-old was released without charge on Monday, but remains under investigation.
In the video posted by the Sun, which headlined its frontpage splash ‘Hit for Six’, Stokes appears to be fighting with two men, one of whom is holding a bottle.
“Andrew Strauss, Director of England Cricket, will refer the internal disciplinary procedure for these two players to the Cricket Discipline Commission, chaired by Tim O’Gorman,” the ECB added. “These decisions, fully supported by ECB Chairman Colin Graves, were made following the release of footage viewed by ECB for the first time on Wednesday night.”
Media reports said Stokes, who suffered a minor fracture of a finger on his right hand, had apologised to the ECB for his arrest and described his state of mind as “fragile and devastated”.
Should the 26-year-old definitively be ruled out of the tour, it would be a huge blow for England whose chances of defending the Ashes Down Under have already been called into question.
The hosts whitewashed England 5-0 in the last Ashes in Australia in 2013/14.
Strauss had hoped earlier that the situation could ‘galvanise’ the rest of the team.
“You can go one of two ways,” he said after the squad announcement. “It can actually bring people together or it can allow people to splinter off into other groups.
“What I’m very encouraged about is how tight that team environment is at the moment.
“I’m exceptionally hopeful that they can use this to galvanise things and bring them closer together to focus their minds on what they need to achieve in Australia.”