Stokes and Hales Have Dealt Extremely Well with the Bristol Incident: Jason Roy

England’s limited-overs opener Jason Roy feels that all-rounder Ben Stokes and his opening partner Alex Hales have ‘dealt extremely well” with the fall out of Stokes’ arrest due to a roadside brawl outside a nightclub in Bristol in September.

The incident indirectly helped Roy regain his place at the top of the batting order in England’s ODI batting order.

Roy, who was present at the Chance to Shine Awards at Lord’s, recalled on a disappointing personal season in the ODI format but was proud of the way he managed to put this off-field issues aside and rediscover his form in the final two matches of England’s international summer.

“The team wasn’t that focused given the events that happened, but as with most sports, you have to come in and take your opportunities,” Roy was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.

“You have to blank out all the stuff that’s happening in the media, all the stuff that people are saying to you about what’s happened in previous games, and just crack on with the next delivery.”

Root was out of the national team for a considerable amount of time and finally managed to make a return during the 4^th ODI against the Windies as a replacement for Hales who has returned to Bristol to help the police on the investigation after being one of the key witnesses after Stokes was arrested at 2:30 am on the morning England’s victory in the ODI at Bristol.

Roy grabbed his opportunity with both hands and scored a magnificent 84 in his comeback match and went on to smash 96 in the final game of the season to wrap up the series 4-0.

“For England it was a disappointing international summer,” he said. “I went over to the IPL, got sidelined for a couple of games, came back and didn’t have that rhythm that I usually have. And then in the Champions Trophy, I tried a few stupid things and got myself in a bit of a rut.

“I’ve always been pretty honest with myself and with everybody else about where I’m at, and yeah, I got myself in a bit of a rut and I couldn’t really get out of it. Then found my way with a few runs in the county game with Surrey, a few good wins under my belt, and then finished strongly at the end of the summer.”

However, Jonny Bairstow was the star for England during the Windies tour, the man who replaced Roy in the England squad during the Champions Trophy. He scored a couple of centuries in the five-match series to bag the Man of the Series Award.

“It is healthy for English cricket,” said Roy. “If anyone of us is sitting on the sidelines, it’s only going to be a positive for England. At the end of the day that is exactly the mentality of Jonny, Halesy and myself, if one of us is sidelined then happy days because we must have a seriously strong opening pair.”

Neither Hales nor Stokes has publicly spoken following the incident in Bristol, but both were present at the wedding ceremony of Roy in France in October. They clicked pictures where they were seen smiling and enjoying the festivities.

“They are fine,” Roy added. “It was obviously an unfortunate event, an unfortunate period, but they came to my wedding, all bearing smiles and everything was all good. Obviously, it’s something we wish didn’t happen, but it did. They’ve actually dealt with it extremely well.”