Ben Stokes is reportedly on the verge of leaving international cricket entirely, after England’s selector chiefs told him he would have to give away his Test captaincy or risk being sacked for breaking “protocols” after their victory at Lords over New Zealand last week.
The England skipper was caught staying out past the team’s midnight curfew alongside Gus Atkinson, and became embroiled in an “incident” in a west London nightclub where Saracens player Totoa Auvaa allegedly aimed a punch at Atkinson.
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The England & Wales Cricket Board has been investigating the incident since it was first reported, with early expectations being that Stokes will be asked to step down.
The i Paper is now reporting that, rather than suffer the ignominy of being relegated back to a regular Test player without the captaincy, the 35-year-old all-rounder is now mulling over giving away the position entirely in response.
Those same early-door reports say that the ruling Cricket Board has denied that any ultimatum has been handed to the under-fire English skipper.
English fans have largely demanded he stay on as captain rather than be dumped entirely.
Funnily enough, Stokes’ replacement in the captaincy would be Harry Brook, who was punched by a bouncer in Wellington during last winter’s tour of New Zealand. Brook came under question for being out after curfew during that tour as well.
Brook is expected to captain next week’s Test against New Zealand at The Oval and is likely to be named as Stokes’s full-time successor before that match. Should that happen, he will be the first player to captain England across all formats since Alastair Cook.
Reports say that any decision either way from Stokes will be made before that Test.
