Ben Stokes – Biography, Wife, Court Case and Trial, Why Was He Arrested?

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Ben Stokes is a cricketer who plays for the English team for which he was once the former vice-captain. Since he began his career in 2011, Stoke has risen to be one of the best in the sport, holding the record for the fastest ever Test double-century in England. While he has maintained a career that is enviable, he has had some bumps with his personal life as a result of some issues he has been having with the law since his arrest in 2017 and a lot of smaller issues before that.

Ben Stokes Biography

It was as Benjamin Andrew Stokes that Ben was born on 4th June 1991 in Christchurch, New Zealand. He was raised there until he was 12 when he moved to the United Kingdom with his family after his father, Gerard Stokes was made the manager of Workington Town rugby league club.

Although his father was a rugby player before he later took to coaching after he retired, it was in cricket that Ben found love following the move to Nothern England. It was there that he started learning the sport and soon, he found himself playing for little clubs. Academically, Stokes did not go far as after moving to England, he left school with just two GCSEs to his name. While there, he got teased a lot as a result of his accent.

Because his mother worked away a lot, he spent more time with his father.

Since from the time he began playing cricket, there were no questions about how far he could go based on his talents, but the years would reveal how much controversies would drag him back.

He made his debut in 2009 for Durham and in 2015, he joined Melbourne Renegades. He also went on to play for Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017, then Canterbury, and then Rajasthan Royals in 2018. He made his Debut for the Senior England team in 2011 but did not get to play in 2012 as a result of some issues he had with his form, injuries, and other things relating to disciplinary issues.

Looking at his career, he has achieved a lot including a record of the most runs in the first session of a day in Tests to beat the record of 153-ball double set by Nathan Astle against England in 2002.

His Wife

Ben Stokes is a married man who tied the knot to Clare Ratcliffe in 2017. The two have been together for a very long time and got engaged in 2013. Together, Ben and his wife have been blessed with two children, Layton and Libby who were born in 2015.

Court Case and Trial, Why Was He Arrested?

While growing up, one of the things that could easily be associated to the cricketer was how much of a short temper he has always had and how much he was always either getting into one trouble or getting out of another. In fact, it was revealed that there was a time that a match had to be canceled as a result of an altercation that started because of him.

The interesting thing, however, is that he has managed to keep his path from crossing with the law, that was until 2017 when he was arrested on September 25 following an incident that left a man needing hospital treatment.

His arrest was due to a fight that ensued after he was accused of mimicking two gay men and using derogatory words against them.

The issue affected his place in the Ashes squad for a period as on September 28, it was announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that Stokes and Alex Hales who was also involved, were not going to be considered for selection in the team until further notice.

While it was later announced that Hales was not going to face charges and so he was eligible for selection on December 4, Stokes was announced back to the team in January 2018, but a few days later (15th January 2018), he was charged with affray.

Stokes made an appearance on February 13 at Bristol Magistrate Court where he entered a not guilty plea. Following this, a trial date was set for 6th August 2018 and it ran until August 14, 2018. During the trial, Stokes admitted that he punched a man, but that was only because he insulted another man for being gay. More so, he added that he was not an angry man who lost control of himself.

On August 14, Ben Stokes was found not guilty of affray following a three-hour deliberation by the jury, bringing an end to the proceedings at Bristol Crown Court.