Stokes and Atkinson are caught behind the bar with no DRS

By K.R. Nayar 

Only a few England cricketers seem to take the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) midnight curfew seriously. Though this is greatly admired in theory, it has been ignored in practice.  England captain Ben Stokes and his teammate Gus Atkinson are in trouble following an altercation with a Saracens rugby player at a night club in the early hours on Monday. This is not the first time Stokes has been involved in a nightclub brawl - he did so in 2017 too and was fined £30,000 by the ECB. 

Quite a few England cricket team players are now known for their late-night drinking scandals. This includes Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Plunkett, Jake Ball, and Ben Duckett. Some Australian players joining this list are David Warner, Ricky Ponting, followed by Alex Carey, Travis Head, and Nathan Lyon. All of them are great as cricketers but can get highly ‘spirited’ too. Though these brawls are mentioned as late-night bar scandals, most of these have taken place almost close to dawn. Quite likely they were not ‘aware’ that they represent their country as a player or captain – thanks to the late-night drinking spree.

It could also be that their boxing skills come to the fore closer to dawn! While all of them display great team spirit on the field, it is very likely that ‘high’ spirit replaces that while at the night club. Should the cricket board now appoint ‘night watchmen’ to guard the hotel exits and prevent these cricketers from leaving their hotel at night?  In 2025, Brook, while in New Zealand, took on a bouncer at a bar mistaking him to be the bouncers he faces while batting. Like Stokes, he was also fined £30,000, swelling ECB’s revenue.

It is unfortunate that top cricketers, who should be role models, succumb to such acts. Is there a way to keep them away from the bar during curfew hours? Can a breath analyser test decide who would be the 12^th man or would not board the team bus?

Cricketers may argue that long tours and too much cricket are the reasons behind their late-night drinking. Since most cricketers play franchise cricket too, they must be reminded that a bar is not a venue for a Nightclub Premier League, and that the ‘Big Bash League’ should be confined to the cricket ground. Night out swings are more dangerous than yorkers especially when the footwork is in a staggering state.

It is tough for any cricket board if they find players who should ideally be sleeping decide to sleep-walk to bars. It can also be difficult to advice their top players that a bar is not the right place to be at the wrong time. There are no captains to declare an innings or umpires to announce end of play in a bar. It is high time players realise there is no DRS for their wrong decisions in the bar.

Surprisingly, players who judge well-delivered balls bowled at 140 kmph sadly are unable to judge the hour on a clock. There is no umpire in a bar to signal a strategic time out since you are the lone decision maker. It would be best to let go of any provocation for a brawl like leaving a late outswinger outside the off stump. The real Man of the Match must be common sense.