Stokes shouldnât lose his job for breaking curfew when the ECBâs failings run so much deeper
Midnight bedtime was entirely a public relations exercise to reconnect with fans â the same fans the ECB invites to one long piss-up at Lordâs
Midnight bedtime was entirely a public relations exercise to reconnect with fans â the same fans the ECB invites to one long piss-up at Lordâs The laws of cricket run to 200-and-some pages. The International Cricket Councilâs Test playing regulations fill another 125, the anti-doping code packs another 66, the code of conduct is 44 more, illegal bowling actions 37, kit and equipment 36.
Youâd be hard pressed to find one single rule anywhere among them as silly as the one we know Ben Stokes has just broken, which stipulates that players canât stay out past midnight. And yes, that does include ICC clothing regulation 19.45, which says that the maximum size of the manufacturerâs label permitted on ankle of playersâ socks is two square inches.
So far as we know, the only thing Stokes has done wrong is break this self-imposed curfew. That may change. The investigation may reveal more details about his alleged involvement in an altercation involving a rugby player. But if there was one very clear lesson from the last time Stokes was involved in a situation like this, at Embargo nightclub in 2017, itâs that itâs worth waiting for the facts.
But the drums have already started thumping. Dread phrases like âhanging by a threadâ and âhard to see how he can continueâ were all over the press. Continue reading...
