England Legend, Botham's Harsh Criticism of Ben Stokes for Breaking Curfew

England’s superstar all-rounder, Ben Stokes and fast bowler, Gus Atkinson were dropped from the ongoing second test against New Zealand due to an impending investigation into the London nightclub incident. 

The 35-year-old, Ben Stokes, and Gus Atkinson, 28 breached England team’s midnight curfew while celebrating their victory in the first test at Lord’s. The duo were present at the nightclub when a member of England's security staff was struck by a Saracens rugby player. 

Both the players are subject to investigation from the ECB and the Cricket Regulator. Sir Botham, who is the president of Stoke’s county side, Durham, having previously served as its chair, spoke about Stokes’ behaviour on an episode of the Stick to Cricket podcast, which will be released next week. He said, “Some people don’t learn, do they? It is as simple as that.”

He further added, “We as a club (referring to Durham), when he had the problems in Bristol in 2017, we stood by him, I stood by him, the whole team stood by him, I was chairman then. Everyone supported him then. I don’t see how you can justify what happened after the game at Lord’s, especially when you were probably very much in charge of when the curfew is, midnight.”

Ben Stokes has been named in the 15-man squad for Durham for their County Championship match against Northamptonshire, which starts on Friday, but his future with the national team remains uncertain at the moment. Botham himself had a reputation as a player who played hard both on and off the field. 

The former all-rounder and England legend said, players of his era used to love going out for a drink but they were quite so obvious compared to the current generation. England were earlier marred by allegations of a drinking culture during the 2025-26 Asher tour, which they lost 4-1. 

Before the Ashes tour, England’s captain in One-day Internationals, Harry Brook was punched by a Night Club bouncer in Wellington on the eve of an ODI match against New Zealand. Consequently, England imposed a midnight curfew on all players and staff members. 

“In Australia, they go down 2-0. What did the team do? Go to Noosa for five days and everyone knows what happened,” said Botham. He further added, “I don’t know where it will go now. I just think something will happen, whichever way it is. To be honest with you, it was an unnecessary procedure and that I think he’ll regret it.”