Ben Stokes Discuss

[Cyril Haearn]

Life is an elaborate metaphor for cricket

[Spinners]

Fair play, he landed that one punch just perfect.

All in all, a shabby affair and I can't understand why the two gay men weren't called as witnesses as there are reports of him verbally abusing and mocking them but also reports of him defending them. I don't know what to believe but I don't think he should just walk back into the test team and I don't think we need him anyway.

[661-Pete]

It's just not cricket.

Owzat then!
I'm bowled over by that remark,properly stumped
Are there no boundarys anymore?

But he was caught! and his opponant retired hurt.

This is a Silly Point....

[reohn2]

Owzat then!
I'm bowled over by that remark,properly stumped
Are there no boundarys anymore?

But he was caught! and his opponant retired hurt.

This is a Silly Point....

Oops,slips

[rjb]

But he was caught! and his opponant retired hurt.

This is a Silly Point....

Oops,slips

He coped with the bouncers and played a Googlie.

[661-Pete]

This is a Silly Point....

Oops,slips

He coped with the bouncers and played a Googlie.

And managed to Swing it.... How much Spin did he use?

[toontra]

Too much of a coincidence?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-45201916

The same day Stokes is acquitted, another elite sportsman goes berserk in a nightclub rampage, probably thinking (if not quite rationally) that this sort of behaviour is somehow acceptable, certainly if you have a decent lawyer.

[Spinners]

Sadly, Danny has always had the self-destruct thing going on.

[[XAP]Bob]

Fair play, he landed that one punch just perfect.

All in all, a shabby affair and I can't understand why the two gay men weren't called as witnesses as there are reports of him verbally abusing and mocking them but also reports of him defending them. I don't know what to believe but I don't think he should just walk back into the test team and I don't think we need him anyway.

Whether or not the team ‘needs’ him, why shouldn’t a man found not guilty return to their job?

I’d suggest that due to his history the ECB might want to put in place a serious restriction on alcohol intake, not just around matches, for his own health and reputation as well as public perception of the sport(ing body).

[Spinners]

Fair play, he landed that one punch just perfect.

All in all, a shabby affair and I can't understand why the two gay men weren't called as witnesses as there are reports of him verbally abusing and mocking them but also reports of him defending them. I don't know what to believe but I don't think he should just walk back into the test team and I don't think we need him anyway.

Whether or not the team ‘needs’ him, why shouldn’t a man found not guilty return to their job?

I’d suggest that due to his history the ECB might want to put in place a serious restriction on alcohol intake, not just around matches, for his own health and reputation as well as public perception of the sport(ing body).

I didn't say ban him from playing test cricket for life but I think excluding him from the current series would have been appropriate - especially as Woakes and Curran have done so well. I've no problem with anyone being found not guilty (trial by jury) of returning to their job, I just don't approve of the indecent haste to get him back in the test team. It sends the wrong message.

[[XAP]Bob]

He's already been excluded from a significant amount of cricket whilst the charges were being brought and he was awaiting trial.

I think that the 'not guilty' verdict is probably the right time to draw a line under it and carry on. Although I'd have thought that he might want/need some time off, defending oneself in a crown court can hardly be a relaxing experience.

Woakes and Curran (and Pope) have done very well though...
The last match was a little one sided, actually the first match was only close due to Kohli's brilliance, but a test team needs more than one man (particularly in terms of batting, one piece of early luck and you're out).

[Bonefishblues]

The criminal law and internal discipline are different animals. Stokes' acquittal doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't have an internal disciplinary matter to answer.

[Mick F]

When I was in the RN, there was a disciplinary procedure called CNP.
Consequential Naval Penalties. Usually a day's pay and a day's extra time on your engagement, but could be much more severe.

Get in trouble with the law and you get the internal discipline too.

The day's pay and the day's time was a good paper exercise and it remains on your service record, but if you gat in trouble and went to court as a youngster, and then continued your service, you could lose a day's pay as a ordinary seaman, and do a day extra time as a chief petty officer. ie lose £15 in pay as an OS, but get £100 extra as a CPO.

[merseymouth]

Hi all, What a mess sport has got itself into! "Body Is Temple"? As alcohol is a toxin it should be treated with caution.
I remember a chap on our local radio years ago, he played football professionally pre WW2. He ignored the club's behaviour code, went out for a couple of pints, no more than that. But he was seen by someone who knew he was being naughty, so got shopped.
Outcome? He was immediately sacked, but even more than that his player registration was withheld so he could not play football for any team that had FA Affiliation! A harsh lesson, but he was banged to rights.
Of course these days his "Learned Counsel" would get him off with damages & a free holiday.
BS & DS are victims of there own stupidity, and don't forget that Paul Gascoigne is a very sad figure these days, another one like George Best & Alex Higgins who never knew when to lay off the booze. The list goes on & on, self destruct models one and all! TTFN MM

[661-Pete]

The demon drink!

There are, surely, ways of enjoying a fair amount of alcohol without 'losing it' Stokes-fashion. I know, because I've been there in my younger days. In my late teens and early to mid 20s, I would down quite a lot of booze, perhaps as much as 12-15 units per session. Always social drinking, mind you. I can remember being unsteady on my feet (and falling off my bike, once, having stupidly opted to cycle home.... )

But never in such a way as might seem menacing or intimidating to other people. In fact I would always stick with the people I'd been drinking with, never go anywhere near a stranger. I believed, back in those days, that it was OK to be drunk in a 'friendly' way. Correct me if I was wrong!

It was only far more recently, when I discovered that anything over about 2 units would cause me palpitations, that I reined it right back. I'm practically a TT now - but not quite. But we never - say - order alcohol at a restaurant - not even when not driving. I know full well that even if I order wine by the glass, it'll be too much for me.