England All-Rounder Ben Stokes Arrested After Bristol Nightclub Incident
Ben Stokes, England all-rounder, has been arrested in Bristol in the early hours of Monday. The 26-year-old spent the night in prison but was later released without any charge. Stokes’ teammate Alex Hales was also present and both have been suspended and won’t take part in Wednesday’s England-West Indies ODI.
According to a BBC report, the incident happened after England’s win in the third ODI against West Indies on Sunday. The left-hander scored 73 in that match. Somerset and Avon police confirmed that a “26-year-old man” was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm. The all-rounder also injured injured his hand during the reported confrontation. Both Stokes and Hales didn’t attend team’s training session ahead of the fourth ODI at The Oval. Hales has reportedly returned to Bristol to help the police.
Andrew Strauss, England’s director of cricket, said: “I went to see Ben last night down in Bristol. I will be addressing players this afternoon after practice. We will obviously be launching our own investigation into the circumstances surrounding this. The Ashes selection will be going ahead as planned.”
After the practice session at The Oval, England captain Eoin Morgan said, “It’s not a lot that I can actually tell but the most relevant thing at the moment is that both Ben (Stokes) and Alex (Hales) won’t be available for tomorrow’s game for selection. So it leaves two spots open for grabs. Jason Roy will definitely come in and we will make the final decisions in the morning and we will look to call the best guys as cover.
It has been a little bit of distraction. But there are always distractions both as captain and as players whether it’s within the group or outside. One things as a group that we are very strong and sticking together as a side and working well as a team. Certainly the best things has been that we have focused on cricket and I think this incident is no different. There is distraction outside the team and it has the potential to affect the game tomorrow but not letting that happen is probably something that we got to do.”
While Morgan confirmed that Roy would be back in the XI, ECB has called Sam Billings for Wednesday’s game against West Indies.
Statement from Avon and Somerset Police: “We were called to a disorder in Queens Road, Clifton, at around 2.35am on Monday [25 September]. A 27-year-old man was found to have suffered facial injuries and was taken to the Bristol Royal Infirmary for treatment. A 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm and has since been released under investigation.
“We’d appeal for anyone who was in the Clifton Triangle area in the early hours of Monday who saw any part of this incident, to call Investigations on 101 and give the call handler the reference number 5217218578.”
Courtesy : indianexpress
