While there are many in the cricketing community, who don’t agree with the actions of England skipper Ben Stokes, after their victory over New Zealand in the 1st Test, he seems to have found some support in former spinner Graeme Swann. The latter believes that there should be no curfew on the players in the first place, especially when they have won a Test.
Swann gives contrary view on Ben Stokes controversy
This is contrary to what former skipper Michael Vaughan feels. As per him, Stokes made a mistake by breaking the curfew put in place by the ECB. “My thoughts are very mixed on this. The fact that there’s a curfew put in place is… I’m a former player. You will never, ever convince me that a curfew is a good thing. It’s ridiculous that they even did that in the first place,” Swann told PTI.
“I understand why they did it, because they’re trying to paint a good picture to other people, to a PR side of it. That doesn’t work. I think they’ll learn a lesson, the ECB, from that, that we shouldn’t have done that at all,” he said. “We should have come out, sat down and actually talked about what we’re going to do as a culture and make sure we’re moving forward. But just to put a midnight curfew after winning a Test match, the day you’re not allowed to celebrate winning a Test match for your country is a dark day,” he said.
Swann went a step further and said that Stokes did not make a mistake at all. “I don’t think Ben Stokes has done anything wrong here, other than go against a rule that shouldn’t have been implemented in the first place.”
England skipper made a mistake
Coming back to what Vaughan had said; the ex-skipper was against the actions of the all-rounder, but did not want a harsh punishment for the player, at all. Many feared him being removed as the current Test skipper, and that should be avoided, he felt.
“Yes, Ben Stokes broke a curfew. Yes, he made a mistake. But is that a sacking offence as England’s Test captain? I don’t think so,” Vaughan wrote for the Telegraph.
The entire incident had happened when a footage emerged from a nightclub, where reportedly, a Saracens academy rugby player Totoa Auvaa punched the England team security member.
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