New Delhi. The ‘nightclub controversy’ that arose after the spectacular victory in the Lord’s Test has been resolved. Captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson have returned to the national team after the completion of the disciplinary investigation by the England and Wales Cricket Board. Both these players will be seen playing in the third test match against New Zealand to be held at Trent Bridge. Both these players, who were out of the second test due to indiscipline, have been included back in the team by the board after giving them a written warning.
This whole controversy started when the players went out to celebrate England’s victory over New Zealand in the first Test match played at Lord’s. According to the report, Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson went to a nightclub in Chelsea on the morning of June 8, where they violated the ‘midnight curfew’ rule set by the board. This curfew was recently implemented by managing director Rob Key and head coach Brendon McCullum to improve the discipline and standards in the team after the poor performance in the Ashes series.
Ben Stokes returns to the England team.
The matter was not limited to just breaking the curfew, but the situation worsened outside the nightclub when physical violence and scuffles broke out there. According to reports, an ECB security liaison officer accompanying the players was attacked and required stitches. After this serious incident, the ECB came into action and immediately conducted an internal investigation and dropped both the players from the team of the second Test match played at The Oval.
The disciplinary action took a dramatic turn last weekend when both players were recalled midway through their respective County Championship matches on the instructions of the ECB. Stokes was playing a quick inning of 95 runs for Durham when he was removed from the match. On the other hand, Atkinson was also dropped from Surrey’s match against Glamorgan. This move gave a clear indication that both of them were going to return to the national team soon.
Now the ECB has issued an official statement and clarified the entire situation. The board said in its statement that Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have been included in the squad for the third Test against New Zealand following the conclusion of the ECB disciplinary hearing. The Board considered that both players had breached specific contractual obligations which oblige England players to maintain the highest conduct at all times and to act in the interests of England cricket. For this reason, he was kept out of the selection for the second test and has been given a written warning.
However, the board also made it clear in the investigation that these two players were not at fault in the violence that took place outside the nightclub. According to the ECB, Ben Stokes was not involved in that fight nor did he see any such incident. At the same time, evidence has proved that Gus Atkinson was the victim of an unprovoked attack and he did not raise his hand to anyone in retaliation. That means both have been completely acquitted of charges of violent behaviour.
After this decision, the entire focus of the England cricket team has now become focused on the game. Ben Stokes is not only making a comeback as captain, but as an all-rounder he is the biggest strength of the team. At the same time, England’s fast bowling attack will be further strengthened with the return of Gus Atkinson. The team management hopes that this chapter of the controversy is now closed and the players will show their full strength in the remaining matches of the series against New Zealand.
The full 15-member England team announced for the third test is as follows
Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethel, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith and Josh Tong.
