London – England red ball captain Ben Stokes was involved in yet another brawl at a London nightclub in the early hours of Monday morning after his team won the first test match against New Zealand at Lords by 115 runs. Pacer Gus Atkinson was also involved. The ECB is investigating the case, with serious consequences for both if found guilty. Stokes has had an illustrious career in cricket, but his off field behaviour too has been a recurring issue for the 35 year old.
The ‘Incident’
Stokes was reportedly involved in a clash with a Sarcens rugby player, the player is said to have thrown a punch at them, which ended up injuring a ECB official who was monitoring the situation. Both Stokes and Atkinson are unhurt. ECB is considering this a serious breach of protocol as the players were still under curfew during the early hours of Monday morning. If stripped of captaincy, vice captain Harry Brook is said to takeover from Stokes, becoming England’s all format captain at the age of 27.
It has been established that police isn’t involved in the situation. Both ECB and the Sarcens rugby club are independently investigating this situation. Stokes is reportedly said to be considering resignation from his captaincy duties.
Stokes, 35, has been previously involved in a nightclub incident. In September 2017, Stokes became involved in a highly publicized incident outside the Mbargo nightclub in Bristol after England’s ODI match against the West Indies. During the early hours of the morning, an altercation broke out involving Stokes and several other individuals. He was arrested by police and subsequently charged with affray, leading to his suspension from international cricket and his exclusion from England’s 2017–18 Ashes tour of Australia. After a trial at Bristol Crown Court, Stokes was found not guilty.
Stokes was also involved in another incident along with vice captain Harry Brook eight months ago.
Stokes and Atkinson are likely to not be part of the 2nd test match.
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