Nasser Hussain urges Ben Stokes to ‘grow up’

The former England captain Nasser Hussain has come down heavily on Ben Stokes following his arrest in Bristol on Monday. The all-rounder was apparently involved in an altercation outside a bar in the city in the early hours of Monday morning and was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm. Hussain has urged him to grow up or risk his international career which is on an upward graph right now.

However, Stokes was released without any charges against his name. Andrew Strauss, the England team director also confirmed that he has suffered a minor fracture on his right hand. Fortunately for the youngster, he was picked in the Ashes squad announced earlier today and also remained the vice-captain of the side.

Hussain criticises Stokes

Hussain believes that the cricketer has the world at its feet and only he can self-destruct his career. “Ben Stokes has the world at his feet and is well on the way to becoming a very special, not to mention very well-rewarded, cricketer. But he cannot keep flirting with the self-destruct button while getting himself into such damaging scrapes. It has reached the point where it could damage the career of a potentially great England cricketer. He has to learn to walk away or not put himself into an environment where this can happen,” he wrote in his column for Daily Mail.

“Ben Stokes has to grow up. The bottom line is, for all the advice and support he will be receiving right now, it’s down to him. He just has far too much going for him to throw it all away,” he added.

Michael Vaughan, another former England captain, also blasted Stokes and advised him to stay away from such troubles off the field. This is not the first time Stokes has found himself in trouble. He was arrested and cautioned in 2011 for obstructing police on a night out and sent home from an England Lions tour to Australia in 2013 for flouting a ban on late-night drinking.