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England captain Ben Stokes is reportedly ready to step down from the captaincy and retire from Test cricket after being involved in an altercation with teammate Gus Atkinson in a nightclub following England’s 115-run win over New Zealand in the first Test of the summer at Lord’s. He got into a scuffle with a rugby player.
The two clashed with former Samoa A and Samoa under-20 captain Totoa Auwa, who stands 6 feet 5 inches (1.95 m) tall. Before the fight, Stokes and Atkinson were reported to have breached a team curfew after going to a club at night. This incident causes severe tension just before the second Test match at The Oval.
He was caught breaking the team’s curfew – Geoffrey Boycott on Ben Stokes
The squad announcement has been delayed amid the ongoing investigation and controversy, with two players set to be banned, and Ben Stokes being the England captain, which could impact his career; Thus, he has thought about stepping down and retiring from the format. Amidst all this, former English captain Geoffrey Boycott has demanded strict action against Ben Stokes.
Boycott wrote in his column for The Telegraph, “The England and Wales Cricket Board need to make an example of Ben Stokes and suspend him after he was caught breaching the team curfew. You can’t ask the captain to blatantly break the rules and do nothing about it because he is so important to the team.”
Brendon McCullum and Key should have been sacked – Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott further said that if Ben Stokes is found guilty of violating team rules, he cannot be treated differently from any other player despite being the captain. Boycott said the responsibility now rests with the England cricket authorities; However, he said any decision on Stokes’ future should await the results of the investigation.
“If England’s director of cricket Rob Key or ECB chief executive Richard Gould are not able to discipline Stokes then they should not be in the job. I have previously said that Brendon McCullum and Key should have been sacked.”
He said, “Come on Rob and Brendan, what are you going to do about this? Whether Stokes should be fired or not depends on the full circumstances of the incident. The investigation is ongoing and we need to get to the bottom of what happened before a decision can be made.”
Ben Stokes set to be punished by ECB?
Boycott also said that Stokes should be punished, which would send a clear message to all of English cricket that breaking the rules can have serious consequences for one’s career. The former player also stressed on maintaining leadership and discipline inside the dressing room.
“But that doesn’t detract from the fact that Stokes, as captain, must set the tone. England can’t beat Australia next summer without discipline. And discipline applies on the field as well as off the field. We don’t want minor fines. They make so much money now that a few thousand rupees mean nothing to them. It’s a suspension we need to see,” he wrote.
