Ben thrives on pride and passion but is in danger of throwing away his career
SEPTEMBER 25
Hours after England’s ODI win against the West Indies, Ben Stokes is arrested for his part in a brawl outside Mbargo nightclub in Bristol. He is released under investigation. Alex Hales, who was with Stokes, is questioned by police but not arrested.
SEPTEMBER 27
Stokes, the Test vice-captain, is named in England’s squad for the Ashes tour of Australia but later withdrawn after video footage of the brawl emerges. The ECB state both Stokes and Hales are “unavailable for selection until further notice”.
OCTOBER 28
Kai Berry and Billy O’Connell reveal to a national newspaper that Stokes stepped in to rescue them on the night in question after an alleged homophobic attack.
NOVEMBER 27
Hours after England’s defeat in the opening Ashes Test in Brisbane, Stokes flies to New Zealand to join Canterbury after the ECB provide a No Objection Certificate (NOC) that clears him to play.
NOVEMBER 29
Police announce they have completed their investigation and sent a file to the Crown Prosecution Service “seeking charging advice”.
JANUARY 15
Stokes is charged with affray along with two other men, Ryan Ali and Ryan Hale.
JANUARY 17
Stokes is cleared to play for England again and is named in the squad for the New Zealand leg of the T20 Tri-Series. Within hours, that decision is deferred after it is announced his first court appearance will clash with a T20 against New Zealand in Wellington.
JANUARY 27
After receiving another NOC from the ECB, Stokes enters the Indian Premier League auction and is signed for £1.4million by Rajasthan Royals.
FEBRUARY 13
Stokes enters a not guilty plea at Bristol Magistrates’ Court and the case is moved to Crown Court with the first hearing set for March 12. It is confirmed Stokes does not need to attend in person and he joins up with the England squad in New Zealand.
FEBRUARY 25
Stokes makes his England return in the first ODI against New Zealand in Hamilton.
MARCH 12
Bristol Crown Court sets the affray trial date for August 6, meaning it will clash with the second Test against India at Lord’s.
AUGUST 4
Stokes stars with the ball as England win the first Test against India at Edgbaston.
AUGUST 14
The trial concludes with Stokes, Ali and Hale all found not guilty of affray. The all-rounder is added to England’s squad for the third Test against India.
WHEN the jury of six women and six men walked back into Bristol Crown Court to return their verdict early yesterday afternoon, Ben Stokes could have been forgiven for seeing his England career flash before his eyes.
All the unedifying details of a now infamous night out in Bristol last September were laid bare over the course of a seven-day trial that was embarrassing for Stokes, his bosses at the ECB and the English game as a whole.
Stokes is today free to carry on his career after the jury found him not guilty of affray. But although he was cleared of the charge, his reputation has still taken a mighty hit.
Many will argue that regardless of the verdict, Stokes should be punished for being out drinking at 2.30am while on England duty and admitting to getting involved in an ugly street brawl, even if it was in self-defence.
That punishment may yet come, depending on the outcome of the ECB’s own internal disciplinary probe into the events of that evening.
Others will say the 27-year-old has been punished enough. After all, he missed last winter’s Ashes series in Australia as well as the Lord’s Test against India that clashed with his trial.
He also lost the Test vice-captaincy in the aftermath of Bristol. One thing that everyone who has the best interests of English cricket at heart can agree on, though, is the hope that the shock of this 11-month ordeal for Stokes will finally see him adopt a more mature approach to his career.
England need Stokes, an all-rounder of rare talent who galvanises the dressing room with his personality and sheer force of will, fully fit and available for selection at all times across all formats.
Stokes, of course, has previous. Along with Matt Coles, he was sent home from an England Lions tour of Australia in 2013 for repeatedly breaking team curfews. Speaking in 2016, Stokes was asked if he could imagine putting himself in that same position again. “No,” came the reply. “I’m more professional than I was back then. That was a time I could have blown it. I could have come back from that and not changed.”
What occurred in Bristol last September certainly was not professional. However, will this experience have the requisite shock factor to finally ensure that Stokes, a father of two, faces up to his responsibilities?
The hope would be yes, but not at the cost of a personality that makes him the player he is. Facing a rampant Australia in his debut series was the proverbial hospital pass for a 22-yearold Stokes. But there is a story from that tour that offers a glimpse into his fearlessness – and feisty attitude – even at that young age.
After Stokes was sledged by Brad Haddin, one senior England player went up to Australia’s wicketkeeper and suggested he should stop. “Why?” asked Haddin.
“Because he will f ****** came the reply.
A withdrawn Stokes would be no good to anyone. This is a player who thrives on confrontation and fierce competition.
Speaking in the same 2016 interview, Stokes said: “I’ll never lose my passion. The day I do is the day I should retire.”
It is a passion that has seen him reprimanded by the ICC for on-field kill you,” verbal clashes three times in the past two years. Until August of next year, he is still just one more offence away from receiving an international ban.
Yet Stokes’ passion is what makes him such a valued team-mate. He is a man you would rather have on your side than against you and it is the thrill of stepping up in the big moments that brings the best out in him. That was summed up in his last match when he grabbed a nerve-shredding first Test against India by the scruff of the neck on the final day by dismissing captain Virat Kohli during a devastating spell of bowling that fittingly saw him seal a 31-run win with the wicket of Hardik Pandya.
Stokes’ commitment to the cause can never be questioned.
In the winter of 2015 he came to the crease just hours after dislocating his shoulder in the field to help try to save the final Test against Pakistan in Sharjah. Batting almost one-handed, he toughed out 19 minutes at the crease, scoring 12 runs from as many balls.
It did not see England avoid defeat but it only made his team-mates love him more.
The moments Stokes has already given England supporters, including that maiden century against Australia at Perth in 2013 and the second-fastest Test double-hundred against South Africa at Cape Town in 2016, have put him in the same league as Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff, England’s greatest all-rounders.
He now has the chance to surpass both. Just as long as he doesn’t throw it all away.