One co-accused cleared, no respite for Stokes yet

The trial of England all-rounder Ben Stokes will continue even as the Bristol Crown Court cleared one – Ryan Hale - of the three accused of affray charges on Thursday.

The trial of England all-rounder Ben Stokes will continue even as the Bristol Crown Court cleared one – Ryan Hale - of the three accused of affray charges on Thursday.

Stokes, Hale and a third man, Ryan Ali, were in Bristol Crown Court on Thursday for the fourth day of their trial for alleged affray in the southwest English city on September 25 last year.

After the prosecution concluded its case against the three men, judge Peter Blair told the jury to find Hale not guilty.

"I am directing you to find him not guilty in my analysis of the evidence," Blair said.

Hale, 28, was formally found not guilty and invited to leave the dock.

The court has seen security camera footage of Stokes, 27, brawling with Hale and Ali in a Bristol street.

The prosecution has said Stokes first knocked out Hale, then 27-year-old Ali.

Stokes told the court on Thursday that he had traded jokes over clothes with William O'Connor and Kai Barry, two openly gay regulars at the Mbargo club, but then stepped in to defend them when they were subjected to homophobic abuse by Hale and his friend Ali.

"I am very clear that the words being used towards these two gentlemen were about them being gay," he said.

"I stepped in and said you shouldn't be saying those things to those two men.

"I was told by Mr Ali along the lines of 'Shut the fuck up or I'll bottle you'. I remember taking a swing at Mr Ali.

"I was protecting myself. I would say that I took a decision of what I did very quickly," Stokes added.

Hale said of Stokes: "There's no self-defence and he isn't defending anyone else.

The case against Stokes and Ali continues.

Hale, on the other hand, said the England cricketer could have killed him. "I'm a dad. He could have killed me. I don't know why he didn't stop.

"He could have beaten the living hell out of me. It's shocking to see someone doing that to someone who didn't do anything wrong."