Video of Stokes’ brawl in Bristol surfaces surfaces
A video purported to be of some of the events that lead to the arrest of England allrounder Ben Stokes in Bristol has been published by a British tabloid.
The video published on the website of The Sun newspaper shows a man alleged to be Stokes striking two men.
If the footage turns out to be genuine it places Stoke’s involvement in the Ashes in serious doubt.
An England and Wales Cricket Board spokesperson said: “We have seen this footage for the first time tonight – when posted by The Sun.
“There is an ongoing police investigation, which will look at all available evidence, and we do have to respect that process.”
Stokes is central to England’s hopes of retaining the Ashes in Australia having contributed massively to a successful home summer.
WATCH! Botham: Stokes must be more careful
Speaking before the video emerged former England captain Michael Vaughan told Optus Sports: “He is the key link to the England team. He’s the engine room out in the middle, he produces magic with the ball, with the bat, in the field.
“If anything over the next few months stops him from going to Australia, I have to say that I don’t give England much of a chance of winning the Ashes.
“It’s a situation that England have to try and deal with as quick as they possibly can.
“He’s not in the good books, what he’s done is completely unprofessional. You may say he was goaded into doing what he did but he was out at 2.30 in the morning in Bristol on a Sunday night.
“He’s such a superstar now he can’t put himself into those positions. He’s that kind of character, he likes life, he likes going out and I’m certainly not one to say ‘stop doing that’ because I like those kind of characters.
“But with his superstar status I think he has to choose exactly where he goes, who he goes out with and unfortunately he might have to have one or two people with him stopping him doing one or two things.
“He certainly can’t be missing for England to have any chance of winning in Australia.”
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