Fresh twist in Ben Stokes arrest saga

There is a new twist in the Ben Stokes saga with two gay men claiming the England allrounder was a "hero" for defending them from a potential hate crime.

Stokes was arrested in the early hours of Monday September 25 after a wild street brawl in Bristol that left a 27-year-old man requiring hospital treatment for facial injuries.

The allrounder was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm and later released but remains under police investigation, as well as an internal investigation before the ECB's independent Cricket Discipline Commission.

The fight was caught on video and the fallout saw Stokes and teammate Alex Hales suspended by the England and Wales Cricket Board indefinitey.

The Avon and Somerset Police have twice issued appeals for two male potential witnesses to come forward, and now UK tabloid The Sun – which initially published the video footage of the brawl – has published an interview with two men claiming to have been the bystanders in the incident.

Bristol man Billy O'Connell, 20, told The Sun: "We were so grateful to Ben for stepping in to help. He was a real hero," after he and friend Kai Barry, 26, were the subject of homophobic taunts.

"Kai feared he could be attacked. If Ben hadn't intervened it could have been a lot worse for us."

Barry added: "I'm not a fighter and we didn't want a fight. We could've been in real trouble. Ben was a real gentleman."

The pair claimed they were oblivious to the fallout from the fight, not being cricket fans, and had not realised who Stokes was or that his Ashes campaign was in limbo.

They have now spoken to police, which may help speed up legal proceedings with the opening Test of the Magellan Ashes due to start on November 23 in Brisbane.

"We couldn't believe it when we found out they were famous cricketers. I just thought Ben and Alex were quite hot, fit guys," Barry said.

"I chat to everyone and they were quite fit so we partied with them for a bit. Ben bought us Jägerbombs. He knew we were gay but he didn't make anything of it."

The pair went on to claim they were walking the streets with Stokes and Hales looking for another club to continue their night out when they heard homophobic taunts.

"I'm not a violent person. And that's probably why Ben Stokes stood up for me," said Barry.

O'Connell added: "We tried to stop it but couldn't do anything. Ben was amazing for standing up for us like that."

The pair said they fled as the fight progressed - "we went to (a) takeaway for chicken burgers ang cheesy chips" - shrugging the fight off as just another night out in Bristol.

"Ben is a really nice guy and I hope he can still play for England in the Ashes. It would be awful his career was ruined over this. He was just trying to help defend Kai," O'Connell said.

Stokes did not board the flight out of Heathrow with the rest of the England squad on Saturday.

Joe Root and his men were en route to Perth when The Sun published the latest claims, and if they are proven accurate may be vital to the police investigation. Before departing, Root said he was resigned to not having Stokes available for the campaign, but insisted his side could retain the urn in Australia.

"It's an ongoing investigation and we don't know how long things are going to take," Root said at Heathrow.

"As a squad we have to plan and prepare and approach it that this is our team for the tour.

"He's a fine player but I see a squad that is more than capable of going out there and doing something special.

"If you don't believe you can go out there and win then there is no point getting on the plane."

England Test squad: Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Crane, Steven Finn, Ben Foakes, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes.

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