Stokes could have killed me, says Bristol pub brawl victim
London:england’s influential allrounder Ben Stokes, who will be missing the rain-hit Lord’s Test due to the ongoing court hearing in Bristol for affray charges, came under fire again as Ryan Hale, a former soldier allegedly knocked out by Ben Stokes, alleged that the England cricketer could have killed him.
Stokes, Hale and a third man, Ryan Ali, were in Bristol Crown Court on Thursday for the fourth day of their trial for alleged affray in the southwest English city on September 25 last year. The ex-serviceman was formally cleared of affray.
The jurors heard that Hale told the police in a formal interview: “I’m a dad. He could have killed me. I don’t know why he didn’t stop. He could have beaten the living hell out of me. It’s shocking to see someone doing that to someone who didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I remember saying ‘I don’t want any trouble’,” the former soldier said in his police interview. “I am telling him to stop. He is having a go at Ryan and I am trying to stop any fight, to stop him getting hurt. “That’s the moment I get smashed to the face.
“I was the innocent bystander getting assaulted brutally for nothing, standing there with open fists being smacking around the place.” Hale said of Stokes: “There’s no self-defence and he isn’t defending anyone else.”
Even as the proceedings continue this week, former West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd said the 27-year-old Stokes has been forced to learn the hard way as staying out until the wee hours has left him vulnerable.
“When you play for your country, you sign a contract. But the curfew is usually only in Tests and ODIS (limited-overs formats), when the captain and manager enforce discipline,” Lloyd said during a discussion on Wednesday to mark a book launch. However, he was critical of Stokes.
“People only go overboard if you do not have any respect (for rules). I’m sure Stokes knows now he got to be stronger in terms of discipline. You have to have rigid discipline representing the country.”
Stokes however told the court on Thursday that he had stepped in to defend a gay couple who was subjected to homophobic abuse by Hale and his friend Ali.
“I stepped in and said you shouldn’t be saying those things to those two men. I was told by Mr Ali along the lines of ‘Shut the f*** up or I’ll bottle you’,” Stokes said.