Stokes to miss India Test at Lord’s after trial date is set

England all-rounder Ben Stokes will miss the Lord’s Test against India to stand trial at Bristol Crown Court charged with affray.

The date was set for Stokes’s trial yesterday during a court hearing in the city. Stokes formally entered a not-guilty plea along with two other men, Ryan Ali, 28, and Ryan Hale, 26.

Stokes appeared via a video link from New Zealand, where he is on tour with England. The other two men appeared in person. The trial date was set as Aug 6 and is expected to last between five and seven days. The second Test against India at Lord’s begins on Aug 9.

Stokes has only just returned to England duty after missing the Ashes and the one-day series in Australia after an alleged incident outside a Bristol nightclub last summer. He is back playing for England in New Zealand, where he is preparing for the two-test series, and is due to go to the Indian Premier League in April before the summer series against Pakistan and India.

The alleged incident took place outside the Mbargo nightclub in the city centre on Sept 25, hours after England had sealed a one-day series win over West Indies. A 27-year-old man allegedly suffered a broken eye socket in the incident.

Alex Hales was also present at the incident and, along with Stokes, faces a disciplinary hearing with the England and Wales Cricket Board that has been put on hold until the end of legal proceedings.