Former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott has called for the immediate suspension of Ben Stokes following the incident at a nightclub in London after the ENG vs NZ 1st Test at Lord’s. The all-rounder, along with pacer Gus Atkinson, were involved in a brawl with Saracens rugby player, Totoa Auvaa that saw an England security officer needing stitches after the fight. Boycott has urged the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to make an example of Stokes by suspending him after the recent episode.
‘Slap him with a suspension’
In a column for The Telegraph, Boycott has advocated for Stokes to be handed a suspension, noting that England cannot have a captain who blatantly breaks the rules. Earlier today, reports claimed that the all-rounder was set to meet his advisor to take a call on his future, amid growing rumours of the England captain retiring after the London nightclub episode.
“The England and Wales Cricket Board has to make an example of Ben Stokes and slap him with a suspension after he was caught breaking the team’s curfew. You cannot have the captain blatantly breaking the rules and not do anything about it just because he is so important to the team,” Boycott wrote in his column.
Boycott further questioned England team director Rob Key and head coach Brendon McCullum for failing to keep the team in check. The former England cricketer stated that the current England team cannot defeat Australia in the next Ashes with the discipline that they possess at present. He said that a paltry fine won’t be enough to teach a lesson to the England cricketers, and that a suspension was the need of the hour.
“If Rob Key, the England director of cricket, or Richard Gould, the ECB chief executive, are not up to the task of disciplining Stokes then they should not be in a job. I said before that Brendon McCullum and Key should have been sacked. Come on Rob and Brendon, what are you going to do about this? Whether Stokes should be sacked depends on the full circumstances of the incident. An investigation is ongoing and it has to get to the bottom of what happened before making that judgment call,” he added.
The controversy arrives at the worst possible time for England. Only months ago, the team introduced a strict midnight curfew after repeated criticism of players’ behaviour during the Ashes tour of Australia. That tour triggered debate about whether England had developed an unhealthy drinking culture.
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