WATCH: Ben Stokes in trouble for foul-mouthed exchange with fan
The fiery all-rounder is consistently in trouble. WARNING: Strong language.
England batsman Ben Stokes reacts after being dismissed during Day One of the Fourth Test between South Africa and England at The Wanderers on January 24, 2020 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
One can understand a player like Inzamam ul-Haq getting upset when he was called Mr Potato Head, but for Ben Stokes to lose the plot at the Wanderers on Friday when he was likened to Ed Sheeran was more surprising and the audible obscenities that were broadcast from England’s star all-rounder are likely to land him in trouble with the match referee.
Back in Toronto in 1997, former Pakistan captain Inzamam climbed into the stands to slap and wave a bat at an India-supporting spectator, who had called him various kinds of potatoes for most of the day’s play.
Inzamam was subsequently banned for two ODIs.
Ben Stokes just replied to a kid with “say it to me outside the ground, you fucking four eyed cunt”
😐😂😂😂
— Cricket Comedy (@CricketComedyUK) January 24, 2020
Stokes’s incident on Friday was less dramatic and he is likely to only get docked a single demerit point.
Following his dismissal for just two, Stokes was heading up the notorious tunnel to the changerooms at the Wanderers when he paused and turned towards a spectator who was yelling at him.
The middle-aged man reportedly compared Stokes to Sheeran, the prolific singer/songwriter and probably the most famous Ginger in the world.
Stokes responded by shouting “Come say that to me outside the ground, you f***ing four-eyed c***.”
The Wanderers has a reputation for feisty spectators and the authorities put up a plexiglass covering for the tunnel after the notorious incident in 1994 when fiery Australian fast bowler Merv Hughes was abused by a spectator and responded by poking his bat at him.
Patrons looking to put players in their place now merely wait at the bottom of the tunnel to give them a piece of their mind.
Stokes is unlikely to miss any cricket because of the foul-mouthed incident, but if match referee Andy Pycroft decides to charge him with bringing the game into disrepute or with threatening physical violence, then the five or six demerit points that could result would put the probable man of the series in line for a suspension.
Reports that Stokes, who was seen signing autographs for the crowd in the vicinity of the tunnel after stumps, would use the defence that he was merely Thinking Out Loud when brought before the match referee could not be verified.
Sheeran has ironically revealed himself as being a big Stokes fan and he announced Stokes’s nomination for last year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, which he eventually won.
For more sport your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
