Ben Stokes ‘to step down’ as England captain and could retire from cricket

Ben Stokes will likely step down as England captain and could retire from cricket, talkSPORT has been told.

The Test skipper was involved in a nightclub altercation alongside teammate Gus Atkinson on Sunday night.

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It came just hours after England beat New Zealand by 115 runs in the first Test at Lord’s.

The ECB have launched an investigation into the incident, which is said to have involved a rugby player from Saracens’ academy.

Stokes is currently the England Test captain, with the nightclub fight the latest in a recent run of scandals involving the team.

His vice-captain Harry Brook was forced to apologise over an altercation with a bouncer in New Zealand last year.

It came ahead of the Ashes series against Australia, which saw Ben Duckett filmed drunk in Noosa between Tests.

Senior correspondent at The Cricketer, George Dobell, joined Hawksbee and Jacobs and revealed that Stokes is likely to step down.

He said: “I fear from everything I hear that Stokes is going to act first. And, regretfully, I hear that he is going to step down and possibly even retire. 

“I think that would be hugely regrettable and I hope he doesn’t. I hope he stands and fights his ground, which is the Ben Stokes we know. 

“I hope he brings this back from the brink like he has done so many games, but everything I hear is that he may well have been given some sort of ultimatum.

“I fear that probably within the day we’ll have heard that he stood down. I don’t think it’s necessary. 

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“While not excusing everything that’s happened, I just think the punishment, if that’s the right word, should be proportionate.

“Let’s get it in perspective again. A 35-year-old man has stayed out beyond midnight. There is a context. It would be disingenuous of me to pretend there isn’t.

“But none of the stuff that’s happened in this period has been that bad. We’re talking about people staying out and having too many drinks or staying out too late, really. 

“It’s not ideal and he’s got a certain example [to set].

“There has to be some repercussions, but do we really want to see one of the most inspirational characters that England have ever had ending their career like this? And personally, I very much don’t.”

England’s difficult decision

Journalist Lawrence Booth has now admitted England may have a behavioural problem due to the mounting controversies.

Speaking to Adam Catterall and Simon Jordan on talkSPORT, he was asked if they have such an issue.

Wisden editor Booth explained: “I think it’s hard to deny it now. They did deny it pretty hard over the winter, but of course they covered up the fact that Harry Brook had been punched by a bouncer in New Zealand before the Ashes.

“There was a famous video of Ben Duckett going AWOL in Noosa, the four-day trip between the second and third Test when lots of drink was consumed.

“And here we are now, 166 overs into the international summer and they already seem to be confirming people’s worst fears.

“I don’t want to be moralistic about sportsmen drinking beer, letting their hair down, they all need to do that, but there is a time and a place for these things and this was not the time and the place.

“This was the time to have a drink in the hotel, observe the curfew which had been (imposed). Stokes was part of the management team that had imposed that curfew and he is the one who has turned around and broken it.

“So it’s very hard now I think for him to hang on to the authority that he’s had over this team and England face a very difficult decision.”

Stokes defended

However, former England bowler Steve Harmison has defended the pair in the wake of the incident.

The 47-year-old has called for Stokes and Atkinson to receive support, with the facts of the matter yet to be revealed.

Harmison joined Gabby Agbonlahor and Andy Goldstein on Tuesday’s talkSPORT Breakfast show.

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Asked if the reaction has been overboard, he admitted: “I think we are going a bit overboard at the minute. At the minute because we don’t know the full facts and that’s important.

“When the full facts come to light, then I think we can make judgement.

“Ben’s a great kid. He’s an honest lad and he’s somebody who will know whether he’s overstepped the boundaries or not.

“I’m fully behind him and he’ll do whatever needs to be the right thing to be done in this situation once the facts come out. So I’ve got no issue with that. I’ve known Ben since he was 15-years-old.

“What I want to happen now is to make sure there’s a protective arm around Atkinson and Stokes at the minute because there’s a duty of care from a team point of view to make sure their mental well-being is alright.

“Because we don’t know the facts and there’s a lot of things going on here, but there’s two lads here who I think need looking after from a team point of view.”

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England resume the Test series against New Zealand on June 17 at The Oval.

The three-match series will be followed by five T20 internationals and three ODIs against India next month.