ECB releases the statement on Ben Stokes' Bristol case

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has released a statement on the Bristol incident of Ben Stokes after he was charged by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on Monday. The all-rounder was suspended all this while by the board as he was allegedly involved in the brawl outside the bar in Bristol. The incident took place in the middle of the ODI series against Windies when the video of Stokes and Alex Hales were seen punching the person. However, the latter was cleared later by Avon and Somerset Police keeping his teammate in the question.

Meanwhile, Ben Stokes was first included in the Test squad for Ashes by the selectors though subject to his availability after the decision on the ongoing investigation. Similar things were happened in the subsequent ODI series and also for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand. But now after being charged, there will be exact clarity over his availability for England.

ECB statement

ECB released a statement soon after the news broke out of Ben Stokes being charged for his alleged involvement in the Bristol brawl in September. The board cleared that they will convene about his availability for England within next 48 hours. “ECB is aware that Ben Stokes has been charged with affray in relation to an incident in Bristol in September. The Board will now convene within 48 hours to decide on Ben Stokes’ availability to represent England at this stage. A further announcement will be made in due course,” the official statement read.

Earlier, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) charged him with affray and now will appear before Bristol Magistrates’ Court soon. “Following a review of all the available evidence, the CPS has today authorised the police to charge three men with affray in connection with the incident. Ben Stokes, 26, Ryan Ali, 28, and Ryan Hale, 26, are all due to appear before Bristol Magistrates’ Court on a date to be fixed in relation to this charge,” the statement from CPS read.

It remains to be seen if he will be available for the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the mega auctions will take place on January 27 and 28 and this news will surely have a lot of bearing on his price tag as well.

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