Online Reporter
Michael Vaughan has backed Ben Stokes to retain the England captaincy despite being investigated for breaking the team’s curfew.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced they were looking into Stokes’ involvement in a nightclub incident on Monday morning following England’s win in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s.
England teammate Gus Atkinson and Saracens rugby player Totoa Auvaa were also involved. Media reports on Tuesday suggested Stokes may resign as Test skipper.
Stokes and Atkinson have since been dropped from the squad for next week’s second Test against New Zealand at the Oval.
Joe Root will step in as interim captain in Stokes’s absence.
“The England & Wales Cricket Board can confirm that, given the ongoing investigation, Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have not been made available for selection for the Rothesay second test against New Zealand, which starts at the Kia Oval on Wednesday 17 June,” said an ECB statement.
“Yorkshire batter Joe Root will lead the team as interim captain.”
The second Test against New Zealand at The Oval gets under way in a week’s time.
But former England captain Vaughan said Stokes had sufficient “credit in the bank” to avoid being sacked.
“Yes, Ben Stokes broke a curfew,” Vaughan wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
“Yes, he made a mistake. But is that a sacking offence as England’s test captain? I do not think so.“Stokes has a lot of credit in the bank for all he has done for England as captain and allrounder. There is no way that those making the big decisions at the England and Wales Cricket Board have the same credit in the bank.I do not see how you can tell Stokes he is not captain anymore just for going over the curfew by a couple of hours after a win.”
He added: “A short suspension would be fine, but this is not a big enough incident over which to lose the captaincy.” It is the latest controversy concerning the England team after the tour of Australia where the side faced allegations of a drinking culture during a 4-1 Ashes series loss.
A physical confrontation with Auvaa is understood to have led to a member of ECB security staff being struck.
If Stokes is stripped of the captaincy, vice-captain Harry Brook— already the skipper of England’s white-ball teams — could lead the hosts next week. —SuperSport.
