Ben Stokes’ reign as England captain probably already in the past - David Gower

Former England captain David Gower fears Ben Stokes’ reign as Test skipper may already be in the past after he was embroiled in a nightclub incident involving a Saracens rugby player.

The England and Wales Cricket Board, the independent Cricket Regulator and the Gallagher Prem club are investigating events which took place in the early hours of Monday morning at a London nightspot.

Stokes and team-mate Gus Atkinson breached team protocols by ignoring a recently imposed midnight curfew as they celebrated Sunday’s first Test victory over New Zealand and were later involved in what became a physical confrontation with the rugby player.

The Press Association understands that Totoa Auvaa, a 6’5″ and 19stones 8lbs former Samoa A and Samoa Under-20 captain, is the Saracens player implicated in the fracas.

Auvaa, 21, is a back-five forward who joined Saracens’ senior academy ahead of the current season and is viewed as a promising prospect for the future.

A security guard who was with the England pair, but who is understood not to be a member of ECB staff, was reportedly injured in the incident.

Stokes is understood to be considering his future, regardless of any conclusion reached by the ECB investigation. He was already expected to miss next week’s second Test at the Kia Oval, along with Atkinson.

The damaging episode began with a contingent of England cricketers meeting Saracens squad members at the White Horse pub in Fulham on Sunday evening, with the latter group marking the end of their season.

According to a bartender, who asked not to be named, a group of around 20 players, including Stokes and England rugby internationals Maro Itoje and Ben Earl, were served in the establishment between 9pm and 11pm.

The Rugby Football Union and Saracens have declined to comment, although there is no suggestion that either Itoje or Earl were involved in what took place later on.

The employee said Stokes ordered a couple of rum and Cokes and the group was engaging in “huge rounds”. He described the atmosphere between the group as “super nice”, adding: “I assumed they all knew each other in the way that they were talking.”

He said the group left when the White Horse closed at 11pm and some looked like they were going to “kick on”.

The Press Association understands earlier in the evening a lot of the Saracens rugby players were seen drinking at the Crabtree pub in Fulham.

They were not seen with any of the England cricketers at that stage, a local witness has said.

Senior figures at the ECB will be furious there are once again question marks over the team’s professionalism and drinking habits – factors which became all too familiar during a messy winter and led to a review of dressing-room culture.

There is uncertainty now over whether Stokes can continue in the office of captain and one of his predecessors, Gower, agrees the situation is that serious.

“He’s in severe doubt. One of the responsibilities as a captain is to set the right tone – if you’re leading, you have to set the right example,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“They have to sort it out. If you’ve agreed to a curfew, yes, you have to abide by it. I’ve got a lot of respect for Ben and most the things he’s done for the last three years or so as England captain.

“He has become – or, I probably have to use the past tense now, had become – a very important figure as a leader of that team. I don’t know what he’s thinking at the moment… regret could be the least of it. He will be mortified, I’m sure, to have put himself in that position in the early hours.

“It’s a misjudgment. You’ve put yourself in a bad position and you’ve put yourself at risk.”

Stokes spoke of giving up alcohol during recovery from injury last year and even invested in a zero per cent brand of spirits.

But, in the immediate aftermath of the 115-run over New Zealand at the home of cricket, he told a press conference: “I won’t be really happy until I get to share a beer with the boys.”

There were multiple reports of late-night drinking sessions on their doomed Ashes campaign over the winter, including a boozy trip to the beach resort of Noosa between the second and third Tests.

The subsequent revelation white-ball captain Harry Brook had been involved in a scuffle with a nightclub bouncer in Wellington on the preceding tour of New Zealand was another damaging affair that saw him fined and issued with a final warning.

Remarkably, as Stokes’ vice-captain, Brook could now be asked to lead the side in his absence. Joe Root, who did the job for five years before Stokes took over and is the squad’s senior figure, could be another option.

In 2017, Stokes was involved in an incident outside a Bristol nightclub that resulted in him being charged with affray. He subsequently missed the Ashes tour of 2017-18 before he was cleared of the charge the following summer.

Click here to read article