England cricket captain Ben Stokes has been dropped from the England team for the second Test against New Zealand at the Oval. He had been drinking at a night club in the early hours of Monday morning after England’s victory in the Lords Test on Sunday. There was an altercation with a Saracen rugby player which left an ECB security man needing stitches. Stokes was not involved it seems.
However Stones along with England cricket bosses Brendan McCullum and Roby Key had been key to developing a new culture for England Men’s cricket after the winter’s Ashes debacle. This included a midnight curfew.
As Michael Atherton notes in The Times (10th June 2026) if Stokes was just a team player this would be a minor issue. As Captain its different.
There are wider issues. Firstly surely Key and McCullum should also be sanctioned. Secondly the drinking culture of England’s men’s cricket is both tied up with the history and culture of the game but in 2026 with numbers of players for various reasons not drinking its hardly creating an inclusive team spirit.
Finally as Atherton points out four years is about the limit for England men’s cricket captains. Is it closing times for Stokes, and if so who might replace him…
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