Graeme Swann, a former England spinner, has questioned the ECB’s midnight curfew for players and called Ben Stokes a victim of a culture that prioritizes policing over acknowledging accomplishments.
Following the Lord’s Test victory celebrations at a nightclub, footage of skipper Stokes and teammate Gus Atkinson getting into a fight with Saracens academy rugby player Totoa Auvaa surfaced, sparking controversy. However, Swann feels that the attention has been diverted right after England defeated New Zealand by 115 runs.
“My thoughts are very mixed on this. The fact that there’s a curfew put in place is… I’m a former player. You will never, ever convince me that a curfew is a good thing. It’s ridiculous that they even did that in the first place,” Swann told PTI.
The former off-spinner said that curfew enforcement was carried out without considering the realities of the dressing room.
“I understand why they did it, because they’re trying to paint a good picture to other people, to a PR side of it. That doesn’t work. I think they’ll learn a lesson, the ECB, from that, that we shouldn’t have done that at all,” he said.
Swann believes that rather than enforcing such general limitations, the ECB would have been better served by talking about team culture.
“We should have come out, sat down and actually talked about what we’re going to do as a culture and make sure we’re moving forward. But just to put a midnight curfew after winning a Test match, the day you’re not allowed to celebrate winning a Test match for your country is a dark day,” he said.
Swann clarified that the rule, not the player, is the problem.
“I don’t think Ben Stokes has done anything wrong here, other than go against a rule that shouldn’t have been implemented in the first place.”
Swann was hesitant to assess the cascading events, even if criticism of Stokes has focused on his duties as captain.
“I don’t know the story, what happened. No one knows the story. So, I’m not even going to comment on that.”
Rather, he went back to what he believes to be the deeper problem.
“Like I say, he celebrated winning the Test match. I have no issue with that whatsoever. I do have a massive issue with the team curfew at midnight after winning a Test.”
According to the 47-year-old, players ought to be seen as mature individuals who can be relied upon to use common sense.
“Before a Test, fine. You shouldn’t drink before or during a game. As a professional athlete, you shouldn’t be doing that. But that doesn’t need writing down on a piece of paper for me.”
Swann also voiced concerns about the increasing monitoring culture around professional cricketers and questioned the intentions of people who recorded and shared footage of England players.
“Think of it from another angle. Think of who recorded that and think of who sent it to a newspaper trying to make money.”
The Northampton man implied that the public conversation had grown more poisonous and made comparisons to earlier situations involving England players.
“This is what happened to Ben Duckett in the winter (during the Ashes in Australia). Who recorded it and sent that? This is supposed to be an England fan and they’ll pretend. They’ll say, ‘Oh, we’re doing it because we love our country.’ No, they’re doing it to try and make money. The culture we live in at the minute, we’re trying desperately to film someone doing it and knock them down, put them in the newspaper. I think it’s a sad time we live in. I really do.”
Swann went so far as to compare the response to Stokes to other situations in which players are frequently honored.
“I think England are playing in the Football World Cup at the minute. If they win that Football World Cup and went on a 10-day bender, we’d celebrate that as a country like you wouldn’t believe.”
Stokes’ future has come under scrutiny after he was left out of England’s second Test match against New Zealand. Swann acknowledged that the debate’s trajectory worried him.
“I don’t know. I hope it’s not the end because he’s the best captain we’ve had, arguably, since Andrew Strauss. Alastair Cook’s not going to like that. Sorry, Cooky, I think he’s (Stokes) a very good man manager and leads by example. He really does lead by example. That’s where he’s let himself down.”
The fact that the dispute has overshadowed one of England’s greatest recent accomplishments is what Swann finds most disheartening about it.
“It was a brilliant win on a terrible pitch at Lord’s and for England to win that game after the winter they had that was horrible in Australia. It was time to move on. But it’s sad,” he said.
Additionally, Swann cautioned that if it came down to it, England would find it difficult to replace Stokes.
“Well, the problem is on the field, we haven’t got an all-rounder anywhere near Ben Stokes…what he brings with the bat and the ball.”
Swann was also inspired by Stokes’ bowling prowess.
“Stokes is an enigma. He’s a world-class fast bowler who swings the ball. We don’t have a swing bowler. No one has swing bowlers in the world. So he’s irreplaceable on the field, I think. And, you know, as a captain, he’s been brilliant.”
Swann maintained that the lesson for players was to acknowledge the reality of contemporary criticism rather than to cease celebrating in spite of the issue.
“I think the lesson learned is to stay in the changing room and just enjoy it between yourselves. What’s the point of going out? You can’t do it these days,” he added.
