By Stephan Shemilt, Cricket Correspondent — BBC Sport
England director of cricket Rob Key is considering imposing an alcohol ban on the England team and has given no assurances that Ben Stokes will remain Test captain following an incident in a London nightclub in the early hours of Monday. All-rounder Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson have been made unavailable for at least the second Test against New Zealand beginning on 17 June, pending the results of an ECB investigation. The pair broke a midnight curfew that is in place throughout the series, and it later emerged that 35-year-old Stokes and Atkinson (28) were present when a member of the England security staff was struck by Saracens rugby player Totoa Auvaa, leaving the security staff member bloodied and requiring medical attention. Six of the XI who played in the first Test win over New Zealand at Lord’s have been caught in late-night misdemeanours.
“Do we need to look at have we been strict enough?” Key said. “Even when they win a game of cricket, is it now a time when there’s just no alcohol at any time and at any stage? The players now have to show the public they can be trusted. At this point it’s hard to say they can.” Stokes’ record as captain — 24 wins from 43 matches — gives him the best success rate of any England skipper since 1981, but the constant stream of controversy is overshadowing his reign. The captaincy for the second Test has been passed to Joe Root, with Harry Brook — Stokes’ vice-captain — overlooked in part due to his own nightclub controversy in Wellington in October 2025. Key said news of the latest indiscretion left him with “a sinking feeling, then anger, then disbelief.”