Ben Stokes was drinking with a group of England cricketers and rugby players before the nightclub incident which could spell the end of his captaincy.
The England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Monday evening that they are investigating an ‘incident’ involving Stokes and his England team-mate Gus Atkinson. The two were inside The Rex Rooms nightclub in the early hours of Monday morning and have therefore breached team protocols.
England’s cricketers are subjected to a midnight curfew following a shambolic Ashes tour, which was lost 4-1 and beset by allegations of an overly relaxed atmosphere which spilled over into a drinking culture.
Stokes and fast bowler Atkinson, who hours earlier had bowled England to victory over New Zealand in the first Test at Lord’s, were involved in an altercation involving a Saracens player, who was out following an end-of-season party. The Telegraph have reported that the Saracens player threw a punch at Atkinson, only to strike an ECB security guard.
“We are aware of an incident involving an academy player connected to Saracens on Sunday evening,” Saracens said in a statement. “The club is currently establishing the full facts and is in contact with the relevant authorities and individuals involved. Once this process is complete, the matter will be reviewed and addressed appropriately.”
The Mirror has been told that Stokes was at The White Horse pub in Parson’s Green on Sunday night, shortly before heading to The Rex Rooms. Stokes is understood to have been at the pub with around 20 others, including his team-mate Joe Root, England rugby union captain Maro Itoje and his Saracens team-mate Ben Earl from around 9pm until 11pm.
A barman, who asked not to be named, told the Mirror: “I don’t know if they arrived together but all of a sudden all the cricket players and the rugby boys were all together chatting.
6View 6 ImagesThe White Horse pub where the group drank on Sunday night(Image: Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)
6View 6 ImagesThe Rex Rooms nightclub some of the group headed to afterwards(Image: Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)
“They arrived about 9pm and left when we closed at 11pm. Stokes was drinking spirits – rum and coke. He only had a couple. It was very civil in here. I wasn’t aware they had security. It wasn’t obvious if they did. They were all chatting and were super nice.
“There were about 20 of them all together. Maybe 25. It was all guys. The rounds were just huge. They were alright. They weren’t causing any trouble. Joe Root wasn’t really involved. He was sitting down in the corner just chatting.”
It is understood that no other cricketers broke the curfew of midnight. The ECB said they are “currently seeking further information” and will shortly make a decision on the line-up for the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval on June 17.
View 6 ImagesBen Stokes went to the Rex Rooms on Sunday night(Image: Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)
Stokes is expected to be omitted from the side and there are major doubts over his captaincy. The 35-year-old kept his job after the miserable Ashes tour, in which England were thrashed on the pitch and made headlines for boozing during a mid-series break in Noosa.
Harry Brook is likely to step into the void created by Stokes’ absence, which is hardly ideal for the ECB, who chose to stick by head coach Brendon McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key in the wake of the Ashes debacle.
News emerged after the tour that Brook had been fined £30,000 by his employers after being punched by a nightclub bouncer in an incident in Wellington, New Zealand, on October 31, when Jacob Bethell was also present. The England vice-captain issued a grovelling apology and promised to learn from his mistake – and now may have to face the media after another incident.
View 6 ImagesHarry Brook, who was involved in a similar incident in October, could now take over the captaincy(Image: Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Stokes was cleared of affray in August 2018 after he was involved in a street brawl near a nightclub in Bristol following the third ODI against West Indies in September of the previous year.
Speaking after the 115-run win over New Zealand on Sunday, Stokes said: “I’m obviously very, very happy that we’ve won. I probably won’t be real happy and smiling until I get up there and share a proper beer with the boys.”
Those beers may have cost him the Test captaincy, while Atkinson also faces an uncertain future. The 28-year-old Surrey seamer has taken 76 wickets in 17 matches since making his debut in July 2024, making him England’s highest wicket-taker in that period, and is the latest in a long line of players to face questions over their off-field behaviour.
View 6 ImagesBen Duckett is another player who has been disciplined for alcohol-related incidents before(Image: GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Opening batter Ben Duckett was sent home from the 2017/18 Ashes tour after pouring a drink over James Anderson’s head. A video of Duckett seemingly drunk also went viral in December during the Ashes tour, while the Tasmanian police were called to the England hotel in January 2022 when a post-Ashes series late-night drinking session, involving Root and Anderson, became too loud.
“When you see a picture of five or six guys sitting down for lunch, a couple of them having drinks, you need to see what’s going on with that,” England director of cricket Key said in December when asked about the issue.
“If it’s true that it became a stag do and people are out drinking all the time excessively, that’s not acceptable. I don’t agree with a drinking culture. I don’t like a drinking culture.”