The ECB will probe into Monday's early-morning nightclub incident featuring Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson.
On Monday (June 8), the ECB released a press statement that ran: “The ECB is currently investigating a breach of team protocols following the conclusion of the first Men’s Test against New Zealand. Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were present at a nightclub in the early hours of Monday morning when an incident took place. We are currently seeking further information, and an announcement regarding the squad for the second Test will be made in due course. The Cricket Regulator has been informed and we will provide a further update when possible.”
As is evident, the release did not mention exactly what the “incident” was, but they were investigating whether Stokes, the captain of the Test team, and Atkinson had breached “team protocols”.
A subsequent ESPNcricinfo report hinted that both cricketers “look set to miss” England’s next Test match, scheduled to start at The Oval on June 17 “while the investigation takes place”.
“Neither player was hurt in the incident,” assured the report, “which is understood to have involved players from Saracens Rugby Club, who were present as part of their end-of-season celebrations, and stemmed from a disagreement between Atkinson and an unnamed academy player.” Saracens confirmed that “an academy player had been involved in an incident on Sunday evening”.
It is worth a mention that following an incident involving a bouncer in Wellington on October 31, limited-overs captain and Test vice-captain Harry Brook had been reprimanded, while teammate Jacob Bethell had been warned. Then, in Australia, when the English unit took a break at Noosa, a controversial fan video of Ben Duckett again prompted an ECB investigation.
Following this string of incidents, the ECB introduced a midnight curfew for cricketers. As per the new ECB release, Stokes and Atkinson have flouted that.
“The first thing I said to these boys is don’t do anything that lands you on the front page of the paper,” head coach Brendon McCullum had said back then. “Nothing good happens after midnight, but we're going to have a good time.
