O’SULLIVAN ENCOURAGED

Snooker’s leading star urged to hold talks with the game’s bosses

BEN STOKES and Alex Hales will learn this week whether they face punishment from England cricket chiefs over bringing the game into disrepute.

Stokes was cleared of affray at Bristol Crown Court earlier this year, after a trial in relation to an incident outside a nightclub in the city in September 2017.

Hales was with Stokes at the time of the incident, but faced no criminal charges.

The England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) could impose fines or suspensions on either or both players.

All-rounder Stokes was omitted from England’s squad for last winter’s Ashes series, but has since been restored to the international fold.

The disciplinary hearings will take place on Wednesday and Friday, with each player charged with two counts of breaching ECB Directive 3.3, which states: “No participant may conduct themselves in a manner or do any act or omission at any time which may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket or which may bring the ECB, the game of cricket or any cricketer or group of cricketers into disrepute.”

The CDC chairman Tim O’Gorman will chair a disciplinary panel also comprising Chris Tickle and Mike Smith.

Former India batsman Gautam Gambhir has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. The 2011 World Cupwinning opener was a stalwart for his country for more than a decade and also won two Indian Premier League titles with the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Pakistan batsman Mohammad Hafeez has announced his retirement from Test cricket.

The ongoing third Test against New Zealand will be his last.