The night at Bristol that changed Ben Stokes' life - A timeline of the entire saga

An excruciating and heart-wrenching passage of events came to a close as Ben Stokes was cleared of all the charges in the Bristol brawl case. This incident shook up the fraternity and at the receiving end of the saga was the English cricket team, they lost their star player and the man in form for some big games last year.

He also had to miss the second Test against India due to the week-long trial at the Bristol Crown Court. To his relief, the Jury unanimously cleared Stokes off the charges of affray. His absence didn’t affect the side much as his replacement Chris Woakes delivered a performance of a lifetime to help the hosts script an easy win.

Stokes has not been the same cricketer after this incident. He seemed mentally disturbed by the turn of events and the confidence levels clearly down. He did bowl magnificently in the first Test, but his batting form has taken a severe hit and it was one of the few good performances he has produced since the mishap.

The entire saga lasted almost a year, which cost Stokes the opportunity to prove himself in the Ashes Down Under. But where did it all begin, how did this affect his career so much? Let’s take a look back at how things unfolded in the case.

That night outside the bar in Bristol

After a resounding victory against the Windies in the 3rd ODI where Stokes registered a valiant 73 with the willow, he went to the Mbargo nightclub in the centre of Bristol with teammate Alex Hales.

Next day morning, Somerset and Avon’s police confirmed that a 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm – an offence which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years – while another man was taken to hospital with facial injuries. That 26-year-old as it turned out, was Ben Stokes and the news spread like wildfire.

This incident happened just a day before the English selectors were going to announce the team for The Ashes. He was named in the squad but didn’t maintain the tag of being the vice-captain.

Reports suggested that the all-rounder was trying to save a gay couple from homophobes, one of whom was armed with a bottle. Stokes apparently told his friends that he was incensed by the homophobic taunts, which triggered him and he lost his temper.

The aftermath of the incident

One has to take note that Ben Stokes was flying high in his career at that juncture. Experts were beginning to draw comparisons with some legendary all-rounders like Sir Ian Botham, Imran Khan and others.

Whilst the police investigation was going on, he was indefinitely suspended from the national side and subsequently was dropped from the Ashes squad. His absence clearly hindered their preparation and England ended up losing the Urn with a humongous 4-0 margin.

A lacklustre comeback

Once the temperatures had dipped, Stokes flew to Canterbury, New Zealand, to play a few T20 games. His performances were nowhere close to the standard expectations.

A month after that (In February 2018), the all-rounder eventually made his International comeback against New Zealand. He received a whopping Rs. 12.5 Crore bid in the IPL but failed to replicate his heroics from the 2017 season.

It was evident that the incident had a significant impact on his confidence, which was tottering profusely. His bowling performance against India in the first Test was probably his best rendition since he came back.

Final verdict clears Stokes of affray

This 11-month ordeal finally came to a conclusion on 14th August with the Jury deciding that Stokes should be cleared off all charges unanimously. An ECB Spokesperson said: “Now that the legal proceedings have concluded, the disciplinary process for Ben Stokes and Alex Hales can be scheduled by the Cricket Discipline Commission [CDC].

“Ben Stokes will now join the England squad for the 3rd Specsavers Test against India, which starts at Trent Bridge on Saturday. Considerable detail has been heard in this week-long court case and, in due course, there will be a range of matters for the Board to fully consider.”As they say, no matter how dark the night gets, the sun will rise to drive all the darkness away. Maybe, this is the crack Stokes wanted to get himself back into the groove.

Here is the timeline of the entire controversy

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