LONDON: Ben Stokes made “stupid noises” and “camp gestures” to mimic two gay men outside a nightclub, a doorman said Tuesday at the England cricketer’s trial for alleged affray. Stokes mimicked the “high-pitched” voices of William O’Connor and Kai Barry, two “quite effeminate” regulars at Mbargo nightclub in Bristol, southwest England, said doorman Andrew Cunningham.
On Monday’s opening day of the trial at Bristol Crown Court, jurors saw footage of Stokes, 27, brawling with 27-year-old Ryan Ali and Ryan Hale, 28, outside Mbargo in the early hours of September 25 last year. Stokes — who starred on Saturday as England beat India in the first Test at Edgbaston — Ali and Hale each deny a charge of affray. The prosecution told the jury how Stokes told police he decided to intervene with Ali and Hale because he overheard “nasty homophobic language”, then told police he acted in self-defence when he thought he was about to be hit with a bottle. The prosecution said Stokes first knocked Hale unconscious, then Ali. Cunningham, appearing as a witness, said he knew the “flamboyant and camp” O’Connor and Barry as regulars. The trial, which began Monday, is expected to last between five and seven days. (AFP)
