Stokes found not guilty of affray by jury at Bristol Crown Court

Stokes was charged after an altercation in the Clifton Triangle area of Bristol in the early hours of September 25 last year

^{England cricketer Ben Stokes outside Bristol Crown Court}

Ben Stokes has been found not guilty of affray at Bristol Crown Court.

The England allrounder's seven-day trial concluded on Tuesday when the verdict was delivered after a two-and-a-half-hour deliberation by the jury.

The panel of six men and six women agreed unanimously that the 27-year-old was not guilty of the charge.

Stokes was arrested following an altercation in the Clifton Triangle area of Bristol in the early hours of September 25 last year.

^{Ryan Hale, left, and Ryan Ali were also cleared of affray} 

He was alleged to have punched his co-defendant, Ryan Ali, unconscious in the street outside Mbargo nightclub. Stokes said in evidence that he had acted in self-defence. 

Ali, 28, was also acquitted of an affray charge.

A third man, Ryan Hale, was cleared last week when the presiding judge, Peter Blair QC, instructed a not guilty verdict to be delivered.

Stokes and Ali shook hands before leaving courtroom one after the delivery of the verdicts on Tuesday.

The ECB have subsequently restored Stokes to the England squad for the third Test against India at Trent Bridge, which is due to start on Saturday.

^{Stokes now faces a Cricket Disciplinary Committee hearing}

The Durham man was left out of the initial 13-man party for the game, but with the proviso that selectors would make an "assessment" of his availability at the conclusion of the trial.

Stokes missed the second Test, which England won by an innings and 59 runs at Lord's, due to the legal proceedings. 

He will now be subject to a Cricket Disciplinary Committee hearing.

Alex Hales, the England white-ball batsman who was out with Stokes in Bristol on the night in question and whose part in the altercation was examined by his team-mate's legal counsel during the trial, will also be subject to the CDC hearing.