Cricket star tells court of bottle threat
BY MARTIN FRICKER A REVELLER knocked unconscious by England cricketer Ben Stokes had threatened to “bottle” him if he intervened in a homophobic street clash, a court heard yesterday.
The warning came from one of two clubbers he punched for their “nasty abuse” to a pair of gay men, the star claimed.
Stokes, 27, and the men he hit, Ryan Ali and Ryan Hale, are charged jointly with affray. All three deny the charges.
A jury heard that the Test all-rounder told police he acted in self-defence.
He also claimed in his statement that the gay friends, Kai Barry and William O’Connor, had thanked him for protecting them.
The trial at Bristol Crown Court continues.