Ben Stokes and Alex Hales cleared to play after disciplinary hearing ends

Sport360 staff 11:07 08/12/2018
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  • Ben Stokes (l) and Alex Hales.

    Ben Stokes and Alex Hales remain eligible for England selection following the outcome of a disciplinary hearing into their roles in a fight outside a Bristol nightclub in 2017.

    All-rounder Stokes, who was cleared of affray in August, was handed an eight-match England ban by the Cricket Discipline Commission Disciplinary Panel but those games are deemed to have been served.

    Hales, who did not face criminal charges, was given a six-match white-ball ban with two already served and four suspended.

    Stokes, 27, was fined a total of £30,000, while Hales, 29, was fined £17,500, £10,000 of which is suspended.

    After the verdicts were announced, Durham man Stokes apologised for the incident, accepting the verdict and said he had learned lessons from it, pleading guilty at the hearing.

    “The criminal charges and, subsequently, the disciplinary charges have made it difficult to make public comment about the issues. I have already apologised to my team-mates, coaches and support staff for the consequences of my actions in Bristol,” he said in a statement.

    “I regret the incident ever happened and I apologise to England supporters and to the public for bringing the game into disrepute. Cricket and family are my life. This incident has been a huge burden for the last 15 months. I am relieved to get back to playing the game that I love without this hanging over me.

    “Although the disciplinary process is now over, I have learned lessons that will stay with me for much longer.”

    Stokes was arrested in the early hours of September 25 last year, midway through England’s one-day international series with the West Indies, and then charged with affray in January.

    Hales was with Stokes at the time of the incident in Bristol, in which a 27-year-old man suffered a fractured eye socket. Both men were charged with two counts of bringing the game into disrepute.

    As well as the nightclub incident, Stokes answered a charge in relation to an “inappropriate video” on social media, while Hales was charged in relation to “inappropriate images”.

    “There is no doubt I fell below the high standards expected of an international sportsman and that was the reason for my decision to admit the charges and accept the punishment handed down,” Hales posted on Twitter.

    “I sincerely apologise for putting myself in a position which allowed these very regrettable incidents to happen.”

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