Stokes and drinking give England another headache

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Ben Stokes has been England Test captain since 2022 By Stephan Shemilt Cricket Correspondent Published 5 minutes ago Once again, English cricket is waking up with a sore head. Victory in the first Test against New Zealand was supposed to be a small step towards shaking off the Ashes hangover. Instead, England opted for hair of the dog. If you're keeping score, six of the players from the England team at Lord's have been involved in some sort of late-night drinking controversy in the past nine months. Harry Brook was "clocked" by a bouncer in Wellington, with Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue present. Ben Duckett was filmed by a member of the public in Noosa, apparently drunk, and the footage found its way on to social media. Now, Test captain Ben Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson spent the early hours of Monday morning involved in an incident with a Saracens academy player in a London nightclub. It is getting harder and harder for all connected with the England team - director of cricket Rob Key, head coach Brendon McCullum, and certainly Stokes himself - to deny there is a drinking culture. At least not with a straight face. It is Stokes' involvement in the latest episode that makes it all the more staggering, serious and downright stupid. He managed to stay away from trouble in Australia, although he admitted that tour was his toughest time in the role. On his return to international cricket, in his first experience of the curfew that was put in place after the Ashes boozing, Stokes has been unable to stick to the rules. As a leader, he has not been able to set an example. There will be a debate about whether a group of professional athletes should be placed under a curfew. And, even if they are, whether or not it should be relaxed in the aftermath of an important Test win. Still, the curfew exists. Stokes, a 35-year-old man, found himself in trouble when he should have been in bed. Publicly, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has admitted the breach of protocols. In mentioning the "early hours of Monday morning" in a statement, the governing body left Stokes and Atkinson bang to rights. It is what happened next that may decide Stokes' future as captain, and possibly as an international cricketer. We know there was an interaction with 21-year-old Saracens forward Totoa Avuaa. England cricketers and Saracens players often move in the same circles, and some of the Sarries squad had been present at Lord's. Stokes & Atkinson investigated over nightclub incident Published 18 hours ago How the incident unfolded is unclear, but the outcome was a member of the England security team was left bloodied and in need of medical attention. He had not been drinking. If Stokes and Atkinson were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time, it will be up to the ECB to decide how big a crime that is. Given the context of the winter and Stokes' position of authority, there will be plenty who believe simply putting hims