ECB faces ICC scrutiny after Ben Stokes' dressing-room retirement video

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has been contacted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding the public announcement of Ben Stokes' retirement from international cricket during the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.

News of the former England captain's decision was made public on the fourth day of the match. Before play began that Sunday, Stokes informed his teammates of his retirement in a dressing-room address that was filmed. The footage was later shared with broadcasters and posted on social media shortly before the tea interval.

However, the ICC has alleged that publishing the footage during the match breached its Players' and Match Officials' Areas (PMOA) minimum standards.

Under Article 2.2.11 of the PMOA regulations, national cricket boards must ensure that, ‘here are no fixed or temporary video cameras or other recording equipment set up within any dressing room used by the teams for the purposes of broadcasting video or audio footage’.

In a letter sent on Saturday, the ICC stated that the ECB had violated this provision by recording and broadcasting both the video and audio of Stokes' dressing-room speech before the Test had concluded. The governing body also noted that it had previously advised the ECB that any footage recorded inside the PMOA must not include audio or be released until after the match had ended.

Speaking at the close of the fourth day's play, Stokes explained that the timing of the announcement had been agreed upon by his representatives and the ECB. At the time the news was released, Stokes was in the middle of a bowling spell and, with his very next delivery after the announcement became public, dismissed New Zealand's Zak Foulkes.

The ICC introduced the PMOA minimum standards as part of its efforts to strengthen anti-corruption measures in international cricket. Neither the ECB nor the ICC has publicly commented on the matter. The ICC's letter was sent a day before the Women's T20 World Cup final at Lord's, where ECB chair Richard Thompson met with ICC chairman Jay Shah. The ECB has yet to formally respond to the governing body's correspondence.