Stoking The Fire For Ben's Big Day In Court

A thumping 124-run win to seal the ODI series against the West Indies.

Spirits were high. Too high, in fact, in the early hours of Monday September 25 last year. This is when Ben Stokes, fresh off a knock of 73 which had featured three sixes, is alleged to have landed the first of what were reportedly fifteen punches outside a nightclub in Bristol.

The purported act, the speculation and the ensuing drama is now familiar to many. As we near the date set for the start of the Bristol Crown Court trial of three men, including Stokes, each on charges of affray, here’s a look at how it all works, and a few questions answered.

One of the more paradoxical elements, at least on the face of this whole affair, was that Stokes, prevented for almost four months from playing for England, was suddenly allowed to resume doing so the moment he had been charged with a serious crime.

The ECB is Stokes’ employer under a central contract. It is likely that there is a provision within this contract that the ECB has the right to suspend an employee pending an investigation of gross misconduct or another serious disciplinary matter. This would include arrest on suspicion of assault, as Stokes was. The ECB handed over the internal investigation to its independent Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) and it promptly became clear that the course of this would depend largely on the criminal investigation conducted by the police, and subsequently Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).