{"id":627986,"date":"2026-06-08T19:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/627986\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T19:12:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:12:08","slug":"ecb-investigates-ben-stokes-and-gus-atkinson-over-nightclub-incident-england-cricket-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/627986\/","title":{"rendered":"ECB investigates Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson over nightclub incident | England cricket team"},"content":{"rendered":"

The England & Wales Cricket Board has launched an investigation into \u201ca breach of team protocols\u201d after Ben Stokes<\/a> and Gus Atkinson were involved in an unspecified incident in a London nightclub in the early hours of Monday.<\/p>\n

The incident occurred in the hours after the first Test against New Zealand concluded at Lord\u2019s, with England sealing a convincing win on the fourth day. \u201cI\u2019m obviously very, very happy that we\u2019ve won this week,\u201d Stokes said immediately after the game ended, \u201cbut I probably won\u2019t be real happy and smiling until I get up there and share a proper beer with the boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both players have been referred to the Cricket<\/a> Regulator, an independent disciplinary body with the power to impose suspensions and unlimited fines, and could be forced to miss the second Test that starts at the Oval on 17 June.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ECB is currently investigating a breach of team protocols following the conclusion of the first men\u2019s Test against New Zealand,\u201d a statement read. \u201cBen Stokes and Gus Atkinson were present at a nightclub in the early hours of Monday morning when an incident took place. We are currently seeking further information, and an announcement regarding the squad for the second Test will be made in due course. The Cricket Regulator has been informed and we will provide a further update when possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The development, particularly given it involves the Test captain, will be a humiliating blow to a set-up attempting to move on from the various missteps that characterised their winter. Harry Brook, England\u2019s white-ball captain, was involved in an altercation with a bouncer outside a nightclub in Wellington, New Zealand, on the night before an ODI last November and then compounded that embarrassment by twice lying about it to the media. Both he and Jacob Bethell, who was also present, were reprimanded by the Cricket Regulator<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Then the Test side went on a mini-break in the Australian coastal resort of Noosa between the first two Ashes Tests, during which videos of inebriated players circulated on social media. \u201cIf it\u2019s true that it became a stag do and people are out drinking all the time excessively, that\u2019s not acceptable,\u201d said Rob Key, England\u2019s managing director of men\u2019s cricket. \u201cI don\u2019t agree with a drinking culture. I don\u2019t like a drinking culture.\u201d A review into that incident led to the introduction of a midnight curfew for players while they are on tour.<\/p>\n

Team management have attempted to brand this summer as a reset both on the pitch \u2013 as a reaction to the 4-1 defeat in the Ashes \u2013 and off it, with the men\u2019s coach Brendon McCullum promising to \u201cuse a firm grip\u201d<\/a> to deal with a perceived drinking culture within the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a cultural point of view and a discipline point of view, we need to make sure we\u2019re operating in the manner that we want to and what\u2019s expected of us,\u201d McCullum said, in the build-up to the first Test against New Zealand. \u201cPlaying professional sport is a great career and it\u2019s great fun, but ultimately you\u2019re representing your country and you\u2019ve got some responsibilities and obligations to carry yourself in the right way. So [my job] is to ensure that remains strong and continues to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The England & Wales Cricket Board has launched an investigation into \u201ca breach of team protocols\u201d after Ben…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627987,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1721,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-627986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-cricket","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}