Ben Stokes' Defence Lawyer Shifts Focus onto Alex Hales, Claims Evidence Unclear
Updated - 10 Jan 2019, 12:33 AM
The problems for star England all-rounder Ben Stokes is continuing to grow with the trial in the court being prolonged following in the wake of affray. In the latest development, now, the focus has been shifted to English opener Alex Hales, who is next to Stokes during the incident which took place in Bristol in September 2017.
Earlier, the case has been registered regarding Stokes, who punched Ryan Hale and Ryan Ali during an alleged altercation in the early hours of Monday (September 25th).
The focus is only on Ben Stokes, why; questions his lawyer.
The defence lawyer of Stokes, Gordon Cole QC appealed to court asking that why all the drama is surrounding around Stokes. He added that the status of the player is playing a key role in highlighting his name each time.
The lawyer drags Hales into the scene who was also appeared kicking the person in the video. However, the right-handed batsman wasn’t charged instead emerged as the eyewitness in the case.
“Throughout this trial, there has been a focus on Ben Stokes. Is this man getting special treatment because of who he is?” Cole said.
Cole also questioned whether the injuries suffered by Ali were caused by Stokes, implicating his fellow England teammate Alex Hales.
“You will see Mr Hales on one occasion appearing to kick. So, when the prosecution seeks to hang all the blame at Ben Stokes’s door by saying he rendered people unconscious, just look at what happened,” Cole said.
“Think about kicks and stamps. Does it follow that all of these injuries are properly attributed to Ben Stokes? We say no. We say that the evidence is ambiguous” said Stokes.
Prosecution lawyer terms Ben Stokes is ”lying”:
Meanwhile, the prosecution lawyer Nicholas Corsellis terms that the English all-rounder is lying to the court. He added that southpaw had punched his client for six times in a row despite Hales asking him to stop.
In his closing statement, Nicholas Corsellis, for the prosecution, said Stokes “acted deplorably as the red mist came down”. And eventually accused the England player of “lying” when claiming he acted in self-defence.
“Even if Mr Stokes has begun using self-defence, he very, very quickly after this became the aggressor, with Mr Hale trying to pacify him together with Mr Ali,” Corsellis said.
“He was pursuing them into the road, repeatedly punching at them at least six times, with his teammate Alex Hales calling him away ‘Stokes… Stokes… stop… stop…’. If Mr Stokes was being tried alone, we submit that his behaviour would constitute an affray. It is plain Mr Stokes is lying,” Corsellis concluded.
All in all, things looking pretty blur for Stokes at the moment. If the trial continues to prolong, his participation in England Jersey will continue to extend.
