This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/09/ben-stokes-trial-jury-directed-to-find-ryan-hale-not-guilty-of-affray
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Ben Stokes tells jury he had at least 10 drinks on night of brawl | Ben Stokes tells jury he had at least 10 drinks on night of brawl |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The England cricketer Ben Stokes has taken to the witness stand for the first time during his trial for affray, telling the jury he had at least seven vodka and mixer drinks and two or three beers in the period leading up to a street brawl. | |
| Stokes began to give evidence minutes after one of his co-defendants, Ryan Hale, was found not guilty of affray, with a judge ruling there was not enough evidence to support a conviction in his case. | Stokes began to give evidence minutes after one of his co-defendants, Ryan Hale, was found not guilty of affray, with a judge ruling there was not enough evidence to support a conviction in his case. |
| Hale, who was knocked out by Stokes in Bristol last September and told police officers he feared Stokes “could have killed” during the fight, smiled after hearing the jury foreman deliver the verdict, following instruction from the judge, Peter Blair QC. | Hale, who was knocked out by Stokes in Bristol last September and told police officers he feared Stokes “could have killed” during the fight, smiled after hearing the jury foreman deliver the verdict, following instruction from the judge, Peter Blair QC. |
| Stokes told a jury he was “not in a bad mood” as they were shown a picture of him pulling a facial expression as he stood for a picture on the same evening as the incident in question. He posed with a nightclub worker, who was a cricket fan, alongside his fellow England players Jimmy Anderson, Jake Ball and Alex Hale outside Pryzm nightclub in Bristol. | |
| “I think he was the guy who stands outside clubs saying: ‘Do you want entry?’” Stokes told the jury. “Before we walked into Pryzm he asked for a photograph. I was not in a bad mood, I’m not sure why I did that face.” | “I think he was the guy who stands outside clubs saying: ‘Do you want entry?’” Stokes told the jury. “Before we walked into Pryzm he asked for a photograph. I was not in a bad mood, I’m not sure why I did that face.” |
| Under ordinary circumstances Stokes would have been looking forward to playing in front of 30,000 at a sold out Lord’s on Thursday where England begin their second Test against India. He sent a tweet to wish his teammates good luck, making special mention of Ollie Pope, the 20-year-old called up in his absence. | Under ordinary circumstances Stokes would have been looking forward to playing in front of 30,000 at a sold out Lord’s on Thursday where England begin their second Test against India. He sent a tweet to wish his teammates good luck, making special mention of Ollie Pope, the 20-year-old called up in his absence. |
| Stokes and the other remaining defendant, Ryan Ali, deny affray. | Stokes and the other remaining defendant, Ryan Ali, deny affray. |
| He arrived at court, a short walk from the city centre hotel where he is staying for the duration of the trial, expected to last seven days, hand in hand with his wife, Clare Ratcliffe. She sat in the front row of the observers’ box during proceedings. | He arrived at court, a short walk from the city centre hotel where he is staying for the duration of the trial, expected to last seven days, hand in hand with his wife, Clare Ratcliffe. She sat in the front row of the observers’ box during proceedings. |
| Earlier the jury heard Stokes “could have killed” as he punched two men unconscious on the street. Hale, an Afghanistan veteran, told police officers in an interview four days after the fight: “I had a constant headache, which I’m probably going to go and get checked out again. | Earlier the jury heard Stokes “could have killed” as he punched two men unconscious on the street. Hale, an Afghanistan veteran, told police officers in an interview four days after the fight: “I had a constant headache, which I’m probably going to go and get checked out again. |
| “It’s the emotions of it all,” he added. “The fact I’ve been attacked. Watching the video was shocking. I’m a dad. He could have killed me. I don’t know why he didn’t stop. You hear about it all the time, he could have. Just the way he was acting in the video, he could have beaten the living hell out of me. It’s shocking to see someone doing that to someone who didn’t do anything wrong. It’s quite shocking to think that I’ve been put in a situation like that.” | “It’s the emotions of it all,” he added. “The fact I’ve been attacked. Watching the video was shocking. I’m a dad. He could have killed me. I don’t know why he didn’t stop. You hear about it all the time, he could have. Just the way he was acting in the video, he could have beaten the living hell out of me. It’s shocking to see someone doing that to someone who didn’t do anything wrong. It’s quite shocking to think that I’ve been put in a situation like that.” |
| Hale, from Bristol, said he suffered a mini-stroke the month before the incident in August last year that resulted in intermittent memory loss. He claimed to recall very little of the fight after being punched to the ground by Stokes but the jury heard his account of earlier in the evening when he and Ali were drinking inside Mbargo nightclub. | Hale, from Bristol, said he suffered a mini-stroke the month before the incident in August last year that resulted in intermittent memory loss. He claimed to recall very little of the fight after being punched to the ground by Stokes but the jury heard his account of earlier in the evening when he and Ali were drinking inside Mbargo nightclub. |
| Hale recalls meeting a gay couple, William O’Connor and Kai Barry, and the jury heard the trio and Ali had been sharing “banter.” | Hale recalls meeting a gay couple, William O’Connor and Kai Barry, and the jury heard the trio and Ali had been sharing “banter.” |
| “The first thing he [Barry] did was put his hand on my knob. I’m an ex-soldier, to me it’s banter,” he said. “It did not offend me at all. He was pinching my arse and I grabbed him and said: ‘You’re coming home with me.’ He said: ‘Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I’m going home with any other bloke.’” | “The first thing he [Barry] did was put his hand on my knob. I’m an ex-soldier, to me it’s banter,” he said. “It did not offend me at all. He was pinching my arse and I grabbed him and said: ‘You’re coming home with me.’ He said: ‘Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I’m going home with any other bloke.’” |
| Hale, 27, said the four men were together on Queen’s Road, around the corner from Mbargo, when they were approached by Stokes. | Hale, 27, said the four men were together on Queen’s Road, around the corner from Mbargo, when they were approached by Stokes. |
| “I remember saying: ‘I don’t want any trouble,’” Hale said. “Then he attacked me and Ryan [Ali] intervenes, but clearly it was the other way round. I just remember them crossing the road and there was a commotion. I don’t know why it happened. | “I remember saying: ‘I don’t want any trouble,’” Hale said. “Then he attacked me and Ryan [Ali] intervenes, but clearly it was the other way round. I just remember them crossing the road and there was a commotion. I don’t know why it happened. |
| “I am pulling him off because he is going to cane his face in and the gay guys are trying to pull me away,” he said. “I am telling him to stop. He is having a go at Ryan and I am trying to stop any fight, to stop him getting hurt. That’s the moment I get smashed to the face.” | “I am pulling him off because he is going to cane his face in and the gay guys are trying to pull me away,” he said. “I am telling him to stop. He is having a go at Ryan and I am trying to stop any fight, to stop him getting hurt. That’s the moment I get smashed to the face.” |
| The trial continues. | The trial continues. |
| UK news | UK news |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |