Ashley Giles fears Ben Stokes is being unfairly targeted following his England heroics as a series of negative stories have emerged about the all-rounder. On Tuesday, pictures were published of an alleged physical altercation between Stokes and his wife.
Clare Stokes denied claims she had been the victim of domestic violence, while the England star issued a firm rebuttal in which he labelled the story “totally irresponsible”.
It has also emerged that Stokes and his mother are launching legal action against The Sun newspaper following a front-page story on a family tragedy that occurred more than 30 years ago.
“I was pretty sure as soon as I saw the story there was nothing in it but it was great to speak to both of them,” Giles said.
“They were obviously concerned. We can all say domestic violence is a really serious issue and we’re not making light of that at all but in this case it’s a very happy couple having some fun – a picture telling a thousand words but just the wrong ones.
“I think it’s just a worry in some sense, as to how his profile can be used against him and how susceptible they are as a family to this. The bigger your profile the more difficult it can become.”
