Ben Stokes cleared of affray after brawl outside Bristol club

The England cricketer Ben Stokes tilted his head back and shut his eyes in a restrained display of relief after being found not guilty of affray following a late-night street brawl in Bristol last September.

Immediately after the verdict was read out, Stokes leaned across the dock to shake hands with his co-defendant, Ryan Ali, who was found not guilty of the same charge. A jury of six men and six women listened to about 30 hours of testimony and submissions during six days of evidence, returning a unanimous verdict after just two-and-a-half hours of deliberations.

Stokes squeezed the waist of his wife, Clare Ratcliffe, who wiped away tears, as the pair left courtroom 1 at Bristol crown court for the final time, after what the sportsman described as an 11-month ordeal. The atmosphere was one of measured celebration as Ali also shook hands with Ratcliffe and Stokes’ agent, Neil Fairbrother, a former cricketer himself.

The lawyer Paul Lunt read a statement on behalf of Stokes on the street outside the court as the 27-year-old stood in the background, stony faced, refusing to answer questions posed to him by TV reporters and offering no apology for the incident.

“The jury’s decision that Ben is not guilty fairly reflects the truth of what happened in Bristol that night,” Lunt said, “This has been a very difficult period for Ben. He’s had to maintain his silence at times when many on social media and certain parts of the press predetermined his guilt long before the trial began. Now that the trial is over, Ben is keen to get back to cricket being his sole focus.”

Stokes lost his England vice-captaincy and a place on an Ashes tour after footage of the fight, which left two men unconscious, was published by a newspaper website