England cricketers Ben Stokes and Alex Hales face a disciplinary hearing in December after being charged with bringing the game into disrepute by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Tuesday.
The pair was involved in a street brawl outside a Bristol nightclub last September, hours after a one-day international against the West Indies. Stokes denied a charge of affray and was cleared following a seven-day trial at Bristol Crown Court last month. Hales was not charged.
Prosecutors wanted to charge Stokes with two counts of assault over the fracas near a nightclub last year in the southwest English city. But the judge would only allow him to stand trial on another charge which meant the jury had to be satisfied Stokes' fight with two men endangered people nearby. Stokes was cleared in a unanimous verdict.
During a night out with England teammates after a match against the West Indies last September, Stokes had at least 10 drinks in the hours before the fight unfolded.
Stokes missed England's Ashes tour of Australia because of the incident, but he was still the most expensive overseas recruit in the annual player auction for the Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition this year when the Rajasthan Royals paid $1.95 million.
However, an independent cricket discipline commission, waiting for the end of the court case, set the players' hearings for Dec. 5 and 7 in London.
Sanctions by the commission can include unlimited fines or suspension and termination of registration.
The hearings fall between England tours of Sri Lanka and the West Indies. Stokes and Hales are available for selection.
