Clare Stokes says images that seemed to show couple fighting were ‘twisted’ by paparazzi
The wife of the cricketerBen Stokeshas dismissed allegations of a physical altercation between the couple at an awards ceremony.
Pictures have emerged of Stokes and his wife Clare appearing to be embroiled in a confrontation during a Professional Cricketers ’Association prizegiving at the Roundhouse in Camden, north London.
All-rounder Stokes was player of the final when England won the men’s Cricket World Cup for the first time in July, before a remarkable unbeaten century at Headingley lit up the drawn Ashes series with Australia later in the summer.
The 28 – year-old Durham player was honored for his heroics by being awarded the PCA Player of the Year Awardat a gala dinner at the Roundhouse on 3 October.
But on Tuesday, a series of images was published on the Guido Fawkes website of what appeared to be an altercation between the couple. In one image, Stokes appeared to have put his left hand on the side of his wife’s face.
Clare Stokesswiftly defended her husband in a Twitter post, which included a photo of her “squishing up” the cricketer’s face as a sign of affection as well as one of them together at the awards night. She claimed a “pap” was trying to twist it into a “crazy story”.
“Unbelievable what nonsense these people will make up!” She said on Twitter. “Me and Ben messing about squishing up each other’s faces cos that’s how we show affection and some pap tries to twist it in to a crazy story! And all before we then have a romantic McDonalds 20 mins later! ”Stokes retaining the post.
Ben Stokes(@ benstokes 38)
The awards were organized by the Professional Cricketers’ Association in association with the England & Wales Cricket Board.
Stokes lifted the Reg Hayter Cupas the NatWest PCA Players’ Player of the Year. Afterwards he said: “You can take a lot of personal pride when you receive this award because it’s your peers that vote for you. Earning this award is a huge moment and something I am very gracious of. ”
After the awards ceremony Stokes and his wife, a primary school teacher, visited a McDonald’s on the way back to their hotel in south-west London.
The England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive, Tom Harrison, said: “We have spoken with both Clare and Ben – as well as others in attendance – who have all clarified the innocent context behind the still photographs taken at last week’s PCA awards. ”
He added: “Whilst it is not the case here, we recognize that for the millions who are impacted by domestic violence, this is a very real and serious issue.”
Stokes is the favorite to be named BBC Sports Personality of the Year but it is not the first time he has been caught up in controversy.
The cricketer was arrested in Bristol in the early hours of (September) after a night out with England teammates to celebrate victory over the West Indies in an international match earlier in the day.
During a trial at Bristol crown court, the incident was described as “a sustained episode of significant violence” from Stokes, who had “lost control”.
Stokes told the jury he had “stepped in” to defend two gay men who were being verbally abused, but then had to defend himself from two men, who were threatening violence.He was found not guilty of affray.
Last month Stokes described a front-page article in the Sun newspaper about a family tragedy 31 years agoas “disgusting” and “immoral ”.
In a statement on Twitter, Stokes said the paper’s decision to publish the story would have “grave and lifelong consequences” for his mother in particular.
The article described events in New Zealand 31 years ago, before he was born, when his mother’s ex-husband killed their two children before taking his own life.
In his statement, Stokes said his own public profile was not an excuse to “invade” the rights and privacy of his family members.
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