Ben Stokes, Gus Atkinson dropped as ECB probes nightclub incident

England captain Ben Stokes and team-mate Gus Atkinson have been dropped from the squad for next week’s second test against New Zealand at the Oval, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced today.

The pair are facing an ECB probe for breaking the team’s midnight curfew following England’s win in the first test at Lord’s.

Yorkshire batter Joe Root will step in as interim captain in Stokes’ absence.

The board said that “given the ongoing investigation, Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have not been made available for selection for the Rothesay second test".

The ECB announced Monday it was looking into Stokes and Atkinson’s involvement in a nightclub incident also involving Saracens rugby player Totoa Auvaa on Monday morning following England’s 115-run win in the first test at Lord’s.

It is the latest controversy concerning the England team after the tour of Australia where the side faced allegations of a drinking culture during a 4-1 Ashes series loss.

A physical confrontation with Auvaa is understood to have led to a member of ECB security staff being struck after Stokes had enjoyed drinks with England rugby captain Maro Itoje earlier in the evening.

In addition to the ECB probe, Stokes and Atkinson are subject to another investigation by the independent Cricket Regulator.

But the temporary appointment of Root, England’s captain for five years before Stokes took over in 2022, suggests there is a way back for the allrounder despite reports he was ready to stand down as skipper or even quit international cricket completely.

In 2017, Stokes was involved in an incident outside a nightclub in Bristol that led to him being charged with affray.

He subsequently missed the Ashes tour of 2017/18 before he was found not guilty of the charge after a trial at Bristol Crown Court in August 2018.

Before today’s announcement, former England captain Michael Vaughan said Stokes had sufficient cricket “credit in the bank” to avoid being sacked as skipper.

“Yes, Ben Stokes broke a curfew. Yes he made a mistake,” Vaughan wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

“But is that a sacking offence as England’s test captain? I do not think so.

“Stokes has a lot of credit in the bank for all he has done for England as captain and allrounder,” said Vaughan, who insisted senior ECB officials lacked the same credit.

“A short suspension would be fine, but this is not a big enough incident over which to lose the captaincy.”

By appointing Root caretaker skipper and deciding against promoting vice-captain Harry Brook to the test captaincy, team chiefs England avoided a potentially embarrassing situation.

Brook, already the captain of England’s white-ball teams, was fined and censured for late-night drinking and clashing with a nightclub bouncer before captaining England in a one-day international in Wellington in October – an incident that led to the midnight curfew.

Meanwhile, Jofra Archer’s expected return to the squad was confirmed Wednesday after the fast bowler missed the first of a three-test series because of his Indian Premier League commitments.

The express quick could now come into the side as Atkinson’s replacement, while batsman Jordan Cox will compete with James Rew and Rehan Ahmed for Stokes’ place in the side.

- AFP