'Cricket's relationship with alcohol has stayed': Stokes rejects 'England Cricket drinking problem' claims
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Cricket's relationship with alcohol has stayed': Stokes rejects 'England Cricket drinking problem' claims")
'Cricket's relationship with alcohol...' Stokes on ENG Cricket drinking problem Photograph: (AFP)
Ben Stokes dismisses claims of an England cricket drinking problem, arguing that alcohol culture is embedded across the entire sport from club level to the top.
Former England captain Ben Stokes slammed claims of England Cricket’s drinking problem that made headlines for all the wrong reasons during the forgettable Ashes tour in Australia. While Stokes rejected all those talks, saying ‘that’s such an extreme thing to put on a team’, he argued that cricket’s affiliation with alcohol is old and has stayed. He made such a statement during a podcast with fellow England greats Jos Buttler and Stuart Broad, opening up on his stance on the drinking issue within England’s dressing room.
England’s drinking problem came into the limelight just after they conceded the away Ashes early this year, with reports of several players getting involved in altercations in Australia amid a boozing spree on a Noosa holiday.
Meanwhile, after Broad directly asked Stokes about his opinion on the issue, he said, "No, I mean, that's such an extreme thing to put on a team. I think cricket has just a drinking culture and it hasn't changed. We are in 2026 now, where the game has gone more professional over the years. One thing that has just stayed within cricket is its relationship with alcohol, from club cricket all the way up.”
Stokes said despite cricket shaping into its most professional form today, alcohol is embedded within it.
"It's been embedded within the sport. The relationship between alcohol and cricket is something that hasn't moved on as the game has become more professional. There's been more science, medicine and nutrition information. So people think England cricket has a culture with alcohol, but I would say no, cricket has a culture associated with alcohol," Stokes, who announced his shock international retirement in June this year, added.
Trending Stories
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
Controversy that ended Stokes' career
Stokes-led England beat New Zealand in their Test series opener at Lord’s by 115 runs, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Hours after the game got over, Stokes and his England teammate Gus Atkinson were out partying in a London nightclub, where the two got involved in an altercation, leading to an ECB security guard suffering injuries.
The matter escalated soon after, and the ECB and Cricket Regulator launched separate probes into the matter, while suspending the two indefinitely. Stokes and Atkinson were then asked to feature for their respective counties, while Joe Root led England in the second Test, which they lost.
While the investigation involving the two concluded with them being given a clean chit and spared a written warning, both were recalled to the side for the third and decisive Test at Trent Bridge. Midway through day four of the Test, the ECB revealed Stokes' decision to step aside from cricket, bringing the curtains down on a decorated career.
