Ben Stokes and Alex Hales charged with bringing game into disrepute - BBC Sport
Ben Stokes and Alex Hales are charged with bringing the game into disrepute by the ECB following an incident outside a Bristol nightclub.
Last updated on .From the section Cricket

Ben Stokes and Alex Hales have been charged with bringing the game into disrepute by the England and Wales Cricket Board following an incident outside a Bristol nightclub.

The independent Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) hearing will be held on 5 and 7 December.

All-rounder Stokes, 27, denied a charge of affray resulting from the September 2017 incident and was found not guilty in August.

The CDC hearing will be held in private by a three-man panel chaired by former Derbyshire cricketer Tim O'Gorman.

It takes place between England's winter tours to Sri Lanka and West Indies.

England will play three Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 international in Sri Lanka in October and November.

They then tour West Indies from mid-January to early March.

Stokes and limited-overs batsman Hales have been charged with two counts of breaching an ECB directive which states:
• None "No-one may conduct themself in a manner or do any act or omission at any time which may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket, or which may bring the ECB, the game of cricket or any cricketer or group of cricketers into disrepute."

The Bristol incident, in which Stokes became involved in a street brawl, occurred several hours after England had played a one-day international against the West Indies at the County Ground.

Stokes and Hales, who was present at the incident, were referred to the CDC by ECB director of cricket Andrew Strauss in September 2017.

The hearing was put on hold until the criminal case was over.

Stokes was unavailable for selection for last winter's Ashes tour, where England were beaten 4-0 by Australia.

He missed the second Test against India at Lord's due to the trial but returned for the third, while Hales no longer plays red-ball cricket.

Stokes has played in 46 Tests for England since making his debut in 2013, as well as 70 ODIs and 22 Twenty20 international appearances.

Speaking on the day the court case ended, Stokes' lawyer Paul Lunt said the Durham player was "keen to get back to cricket being his sole focus".
• None 'ECB must strike right balance when investigating Stokes and Hales'