Rob Key refuses to back Ben Stokes as captain and considers blanket booze ban
Friday, 12 June 2026
Managing director Rob Key refused to publicly back Stokes' position, stating he will let internal and external investigations play out first.
A historic, blanket ban on player alcohol consumption is under consideration as management admits public trust has been 'smashed in the face.'
England captain Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have been dropped for the second Test against New Zealand after breaking a midnight curfew.
Rob Key has refused to back Ben Stokes as England captain and is even considering banning alcohol.
Stokes and Gus Atkinson have been dropped for the second Test against New Zealand pending an investigation into their behaviour after they stayed out beyond the team’s midnight curfew following Sunday’s win at Lord’s. At Rex Rooms nightclub on the King’s Road, England’s security liaison James Shaw required stitches after a melee involving a Saracens rugby player, Totoa Auvaa.
In an extraordinary and wide-ranging press briefing at the Oval, where the second Test begins on Wednesday, these were the key points from Key, England men’s managing director:
Declined on several occasions to back Stokes’s position as captain
Revealed he is considering introducing a blanket ban on alcohol
Said the “distraught” Atkinson claimed he was not even aware there was a curfew in place
Admitted attempts to reconnect with the public have been “smashed in the face”
Described himself and coach Brendon McCullum as in “disbelief” when they heard the news
Declared that captaining England would be “too big a job” for vice-captain Harry Brook right now.
Stokes and Atkinson are subject to a pair of investigations, one internal by the team management, another by the Cricket Regulator, with Key saying England will “let the process play out” before making any decisions. Stokes is at home in the North East, weighing up his future amid concerns about his well-being, but Key declined on various occasions to give the captain his backing to continue.
“We’re just trying to make sure he’s all right and doesn’t rush to any rash decisions,” Key said. “We’ve not given him any ultimatums, we’re just speaking to him all the time to make sure he is all right. It’s been a traumatic time for him. When things are like that you don’t want to make any decisions. Time is our ally. Don’t underestimate how tough the last six months have been on Ben Stokes.”
Asked directly if Stokes would not be sacked, Key said: “I’m not saying that. At this point in time, it has not crossed my mind to get that far ahead.”
Key received a call from McCullum on Monday morning after the coach had been briefed by Shaw on the matter.
“The first thing on Monday morning was a sinking feeling, then disbelief, anger,” Key said. “I’m not sure I’m over all of that now. There is so much work that Ben and myself have put in, so much time spent on the phone – the overriding thing was shock that it was Ben involved.
“[With] Brendon, we’ve been through a hell of a lot over the last six months and I’ve seen a coach who has evolved dramatically.
“In terms of can Ben captain again, we’ve just got to let that play out. The decision as I look forward is about what’s best for the team and what’s best for Ben. It’s not just about what’s happened on Sunday night. It’s about the best thing moving forward and that’s where we need the time because that’s a big decision.
“We have spent a lot of time over the past few months trying to make sure what we’re portraying to the public, we’re going to regain their trust. We haven’t done that with what’s happened here, which is such a shame because what I saw the team do out on the field was such a good win against an excellent New Zealand team.
“All the things we have been working on, every single thing, within the dressing room, within that side, all the work we’ve tried to do to reconnect the game – it feels like we’ve just been smashed in the face with that. That is incredibly frustrating.”
‘Players have to show they can be trusted… it’s hard to say they can’
As England picked up the pieces of the incident, it emerged that Atkinson did not know a curfew was in place. Key appeared to have little sympathy for this position.
“The protocols were brought in in January, they were also sent to their representatives at [Team England Player Partnership],” Key said. “It’s then been spoken about internally and externally. Gus Atkinson says he didn’t know. Ben Stokes and I have spent three months working through a lot of things on how do we improve the culture, performance, everything with this team. He’s been an integral part.
“A number of players went out that night and all but two of them came back in time for the curfew.”
As a result, Key revealed he is considering banning players from drinking altogether. The curfew was brought in after a boozy Ashes, but has been an on-off feature of team rules over the last decade. A ban would be unprecedented.
“We don’t want our players out late at night in alcohol-related incidents,” Key said. “Everything we’ve looked at so far, and everything we’ve found out, it looks like they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They weren’t aggressive or anything and, actually, it looks like they were on the receiving end of what looks like some pretty poor behaviour from other people.
“What I believe, and I’m trying to give myself a bit of time, is do we need to look at have they [the protocols] been strict enough? Even when they win a game of cricket, is it now a time when there’s just no alcohol at any time, at any stage? I need to think through these things because I don’t want to make a rash decision that hinders the team and creates a situation where they don’t feel they can do anything. But the players now have to show the public they can be trusted. At this point it’s hard to say they can.”
Despite that loss of trust, Key said: “I don’t think they’ve become a national embarrassment.”
On Wednesday, Joe Root responded to an SOS call to lead the team again, having been succeeded by Stokes in 2022. Key accepted Brook’s early-hours run-in with a bouncer in Wellington was “certainly one of the reasons” he was not selected, but said it was “too strong” to say that Root is the only “responsible adult” in a dressing room that has a long charge sheet of alcohol-related incidents.
“We thought this was too big a job at this stage for Harry,” Key said. “There’s so much that comes with the Test captaincy, even if you’re only doing it for one Test. Harry Brook’s the white-ball captain, he’s been outstanding at doing that job, and he’s coming of age.
“There’s lots of factors why we went for Joe, but ultimately, when English cricket’s in a hole, Joe Root’s the man we ask to dig us out, on or off the field. We’re incredibly lucky to have him. When I spoke to him about whether he would consider this, he didn’t hesitate.”