England cricketer Ben Stokes leaves Bristol Crown Court as the trial breaks for the day, in Bristol, south-west England on August 13, 2018, during his trial on charges of affray.

England cricketer Ben Stokes walked free from Bristol Crown Court on Tuesday having been found not guilty of affray.

The all-rounder had been accused of punching Ryan Hale, 27, to the ground and knocking out Ryan Ali, 28, during an brawl outside a nightclub in Bristol in September last year.

Mr Ali sustained a broken eye socket, fractured tooth, a cut to his eyebrow and bruising to his face during the fracas, while Mr Hale suffered a superficial head wound.

Following a seven-day trial, the jury at Bristol Crown Court took under three hours to acquit Mr Stokes and co-accused Mr Ali of affray.

Mr Stokes will rejoin the England squad for the third Test against India at Trent Bridge on Saturday.

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Mr Stokes was jointly accused of affray alongside Mr Ali, who was also cleared of affray by the same jury on Tuesday.

It was alleged Mr Stokes was “enraged” after a doorman refused to allow him and teammate Alex Hales back into a nightclub hours after England had beaten the West Indies in a one-day international in Bristol.

Who is who Ben Stokes – Cricketer accused of punching Ryan Hale and Ryan Ali

Ryan Ali – Jointly accused of affray alongside Stokes

Ryan Hale – Acquitted of affray

Kai Barry and William O’Connor – Gay couple who Stokes insists he stepped in to protect

James Anderson, Jake Ball and Alex Hales, Liam Plunkettand Jonny Bairstow- Teammates of Stokes

Andrew Cunningham – Door supervisor at the Mbargo nightclub

Mark Spure- Off-duty police community support officer who told court Stokes had been ‘main aggressor’

The court heard Mr Stokes, 27, mocked two gay men by “mimicking this voices and mannerisms in a derogatory manner”, before a fight broke out.

Prosecutor Nicholas Corsellis accused the cricketer of being the “main aggressor” during the fight and said he hit the two men after “the red mist came down”.

But Mr Stokes denied ridiculing the gay couple, saying he was defending them against homophobic abuse and claiming they thanked him for protecting them.

The cricketer also said felt “under threat”, claiming Mr Ali held the neck of an upturned bottle in his hand and began “waving it around”.

Mr Ali said he was defending himself and claimed Mr Stokes was “very angry and looking for someone to pick on” on the night of the incident.

Mr Hale was acquitted of the same charge by the jury of six men and six women on the direction of the judge on Thursday.