LORD BOTHAM CRITICISES STOKES FOR BREAKING ENGLAND CURFEW

Lord Botham has criticised Ben Stokes for breaching England's team curfew following the first Test victory against New Zealand at Lord's. Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson were made unavailable for the ongoing second Test pending investigation into an incident at a London nightclub. Both men broke the midnight curfew whilst celebrating. A member of England's security staff was struck during the incident by a Saracens rugby player. Both cricketers are subject to investigations by the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Cricket Regulator.

Botham, who serves as president of Stokes' county side Durham and previously chaired the club, made his remarks on the Stick to Cricket podcast, to be released in full next week. He said he did not see "how you justify what happened" and stated that Stokes was "probably very much in charge of when the curfew is". Botham recalled supporting Stokes through previous disciplinary matters in 2017 when the all-rounder faced problems in Bristol. He suggested players of his era "used to love going out for a drink" but were "not quite so obvious" about it compared to the current generation.

England imposed the midnight curfew on all players and staff following an incident in which white-ball captain Harry Brook was punched by a nightclub bouncer in Wellington ahead of a one-day international against New Zealand. Stokes has been named in Durham's 15-man squad for their County Championship fixture against Northamptonshire starting Friday, though his England future remains uncertain. The curfew policy followed England's 4-1 defeat in the 2025-26 Ashes series in Australia.