Ben Stokes during the street brawl. (Source: Twitter video screenshot)
Days after England’s star all-rounder Ben Stokes and opener Alex Hales were arrested for their altercation outside a Bristol nightclub, a shocking CCTV footage of the incident has emerged. In the video, that is going viral on the internet, Stokes can be seen throwing punches at two men outside the club before knocking them down. One of these men reportedly needed hospital treatment after the incident. Even though Alex Hales cannot be seen in the video, he was present with Stokes at that time.
Soon after the incident, both the cricketers were suspended from international cricket until further notice. The announcement came a day after Stokes, England’s highest-profile cricketer and vice-captain of the Test side, was named in the 16-man squad for the Ashes tour of Australia starting in November. The announcement was made by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) which said that both Stokes and Hales will remain on full pay pending further investigation into the incident in the early hours of Monday. Watch the video of the incident here:
Not only a good batter & Bowler but a great Street fighter also.
Such a great Allrounder Ben Stokes is.#ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/Znwd7CGxxh
— Ser Rohit Sharma (@ImRo450) September 28, 2017
Stokes was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm and then released without charge under investigation on Monday, and Hales was with him at the time of the incident. “Ben Stokes and Alex Hales will not be considered for selection for England international matches until further notice,” the ECB said.
After this suspension, both the players will not play against Friday’s final one-day international against West Indies in Southampton. “Andrew Strauss, Director of England Cricket, will today refer the internal disciplinary procedure for these two players to the Cricket Discipline Commission, chaired by Tim O’Gorman,” the ECB added in its incident. “These decisions, fully supported by ECB Chairman Colin Graves, were made following the release of footage viewed by ECB for the first time on Wednesday night,” it added.
