He also denied being drunk at the time of the incident, but told the jury he would have had at least 10 drinks on the night.Īmong them would have been a bottle of beer after England's match against the West Indies, two or three pints at the team hotel, and five or six vodka and lemonades while out in Bristol. Stokes arrived at court on Friday morning alongside his wifeīut Stokes insisted he was acting in self-defence and denied suggestions from prosecutor Nicholas Corsellis that he had anger issues. Stokes, 27, admitted throwing punches, which Ali told the court had left him with a head injury that affected his memory of the night. The lawyer for Ali - who suffered multiple eye injuries after the altercation - told Stokes he was refusing to "take responsibility".Īnna Midgley said Stokes had "hit Mr Ali when he was backing away and threatening no violence", but the Durham all-rounder claimed he was told to "f*** off or I'll bottle you". Stokes told the jury he stepped in after telling the men to stop, but that he had "significant memory blackout" about exactly what they had said to the couple.Īll three men were charged with affray over September's incident, but on Thursday judge Peter Blair directed the jury at Bristol Crown Court to find Mr Hale not guilty. His defence has been built around the claim that he wanted to defend a gay couple who were receiving "homophobic abuse" from Ryan Hale and Ryan Ali - who Stokes allegedly knocked unconscious.
The England cricketer finished giving evidence on Friday at his trial for affray, during which he was forced to deny he had acted as "an angry man" who had "lost control". Sky Sports News' Geraint Thomas reports from Bristol Crown Court after Ben Stokes finished giving evidence in his trial for affray on Fridayīen Stokes has been accused of lying over alleged homophobic abuse directed towards a gay couple on the night of his arrest outside a Bristol bar.