Former England skipper: Ben Stokes must 'look himself in the mirror'

Ben Stokes has to “look at himself in the mirror” after getting arrested in Bristol on Monday, according to former England captain Michael Vaughan.

A video which allegedly shows current England vice-captain Stokes throwing punches in a street fight emerged on Wednesday.

Stokes, who has been picked for England’s Ashes tour squad, was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm and released without charge on Monday, but remains under investigation.

Coach Trevor Bayliss has described the circumstances which led to Stokes’ arrest in Bristol early on Monday as ”very unprofessional” and Vaughan admits he has serious concerns about the all-rounder.

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“You do worry about him because he’s got this switch that he can’t switch off,” Vaughan told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Breakfast programme.

“I’m all for cricketers having a bit of downtime but he has got to look himself in the mirror. He can have as many talks from the England management, from his wife and his agent but he has got to understand now what he’s doing and what he’s been involved in in the last few days.”

A man said by The Sun to be Stokes is seen to throw punches at two others in a video published on the newspaper’s website on Wednesday night.

The alleged incident took place in the Clifton Triangle area of Bristol at 2.35am on Monday, after which a 27-year-old man was taken to hospital. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) acknowledged on Wednesday night that it had seen the video.

Stokes retains the England Test vice-captaincy, for now at least, despite his arrest and a broken finger on his right hand understood to have been suffered during the night out in Bristol.

Vaughan added: “I just don’t understand why he’d want to be in a bar at 2.30 on a Monday morning before a game on Wednesday. He’s putting himself in a place where he’s a target – he’s a very famous person these days.

“I was gobsmacked when I saw (the video) last night, I couldn’t really believe what I was watching. But we do need to know the full facts and understand exactly what happened at the start.”

Stokes will be interviewed, along with other team-mates, as part of an ECB investigation into the incident, but is still due to fly out to Australia with the rest of Joe Root’s squad on October 28.

Vaughan said: “If he is in Australia he is not going to be available for those first two warm-up games and it looks like he might potentially not get any cricket before that first Test.

“Whatever happens, England’s wheels going Down Under are very loose.”