Alex Hales may have caused injuries to a man who was later knocked unconscious by England teammate Ben Stokes, a court has heard. Stokes, 27, has insisted he was acting in self-defence when he hit Ryan Ali, 28, and Ryan Hale, 27, after they had abused two gay men near a nightclub in Bristol.

Bristol Crown Court heard that the precise start to the violence is unknown but Ali, who is on trial alongside Stokes accused of affray, swung a beer bottle at Hales. Ali then delivered a glancing blow to the shoulder of Kai Barry, a gay man who was out with friend William O'Connor in the Clifton Triangle area of Bristol in the early hours of September 25 last year.