Stokes set to miss India clash at Lord’s

Ben Stokes

England allrounder Ben Stokes won’t play in the Lord’s Test against India after his trial date for affray was set for August 6 in Bristol’s Crown Court.

Stokes was allowed to appear via video stream in his trial preparation hearing in Bristol on Monday as he is on tour in New Zealand with England.

The England man entered a plea of not guilty as did his co-accused in the case.

The allrounder was detained by police on the morning of September 25 in relation to an incident outside of a Bristol nightclub.

Video of the alleged incident surfaced on tabloid newspapers websites soon after with Stokes maintaining his silence as the investigation moved forward.

A 27-year-old man is alleged to have suffered a fractured eye socket in the incident.

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Stokes missed the Ashes series with England unable to select him for overseas tours until they had learned if he would be charged or not.

Upon being charged Stokes was immediately named in the team’s for the visit to New Zealand prompting criticism from the media for the England Cricket Board’s handling of the incident.

The trial itself is expected to last between five and seven days.

England’s first Test against India at Edgbaston is scheduled to take place from the 1st until the 5th of August with the second Test at Lord’s set to get underway on August 9.

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