Kai Barry and William O’Connor, the couple Ben Stokes said he had been defending in a fight outside a Bristol nightclub, may have been at the heart of the cricketer’s trial, but they were visibly absent from the witness box and no statements were read from them.



Jurors were not told why the men were not called, with the judge, Peter Blair QC, saying only that it would be wrong for them to speculate about any witnesses the prosecution or defence did not call.



The main thrust of Stokes’ defence was that he was protecting the couple from homophobic abuse. What exactly that abuse was, he could not remember.

A spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “The evidence of Mr O’Connor and Mr Barry was disclosed to the defence but it was not deemed necessary to call them as witnesses in the case.”

On Tuesday, Stokes and Ryan Ali were found not guilty of affray. A third man, Ryan Hale, was acquitted of the charge last Thursday on the directions of the judge.

Speaking after the trial, the couple told ITV they were grateful to the cricketer, who “didn’t deserve being put through a trial”.

Barry said: “When I realised who he was, I thought, fair play. He’s obviously put his career at risk for someone that he never knew. Thank you for being there. Sorry about all the drama we landed you in, but a lot of appreciation.”

O’Connor said they were thankful for Stokes’ actions “because Kai could have been left with a scar”. He said the cricketer had approached when he saw “how homophobic [the people] were and how nasty they came across”.



The court heard that during the fight Barry had received a “glancing blow” on the shoulder from Ali, who was holding a bottle from which he had been drinking.



Ali denied homophobia was involved. Stokes, who dismissed claims put to him in court that he had “mimicked” the couple and flicked a cigarette butt at them, also denied homophobia. CCTV footage appeared to show him escorting them away from the violence.

Though they did not give evidence to the trial, a month after the incident, the couple gave an exclusive joint interview to the Sun, praising Stokes for his actions.

They said they had not realised who he was at the time: “We couldn’t believe it when we found out they were famous cricketers.”