Will MacPherson July 10, 2026 – 7:59 p.m. Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. TOTOTO England cricketers have been told they must not drink, even the day after a match. England introduced a midnight curfew after the 4-1 Ashes defeat, which was
Will MacPherson
England cricketers have been told they must not drink, even the day after a match.
England introduced a midnight curfew after the 4-1 Ashes defeat, which was marred by stories of players drinking, most notably when Harry Brook was hit by a bouncer hours before captaining the team in Wellington in November.
However, after the first Test of the summer, which England won, Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were left outside after midnight at the Rex Rooms on the King’s Road in west London, where a Saracen academy rugby player “attacked” Atkinson, injuring England security guard James Shaw in the process.
This infuriated the English hierarchy, but it became clear that Atkinson did not know that a curfew existed and there was further confusion over when it applied and its exact codification.
Stokes, who did not witness the incident, and Atkinson were left out of the team for the next Test at the Oval, but returned for the series decider at Trent Bridge, during which Stokes withdrew. After a legal dispute, instead of punishing them for violating curfew, England said the couple had “breached specific contractual obligations.”
In the days after the incident, CEO Rob Key had floated the idea of a complete alcohol ban. Key didn’t go that far, but he did update the alcohol policy and shared it with the players between the first and second tests. It includes adjustments to the policy issued to players on the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka and India earlier this year. Atkinson was not on that tour.
The new policy says in a first section that every day of an England men’s home series and tour:
- Midnight curfew set
- Players cannot appear under the influence of alcohol in public or post on social media about any “alcohol-related material or activity.”
- Players must inform team management or security if they leave the hotel after 10:00 p.m., including any changes to their plans.
The new policy continues in a second section:
- “In addition, from the day before the start of any match until the end of the day after the end of that match”
- “We recommend not consuming alcohol”
- Players cannot drink anything in public, including public areas of the team hotel, unless “specifically approved by Key or head coach Brendon McCullum.”
- Players are strongly discouraged from consuming alcohol in private during this period because “preparation, recovery and professionalism must take priority.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed that if a match finishes on day five, the above rules and recommendations apply until the end of what would be day six.
The document, signed by Key, says its aim is to “protect the players, the reputation of both cricket in England and Wales and the ECB, and optimize player performance.”
It has also tightened the wording of some questions. Recommending that players do not consume alcohol even after matches have concluded is a significant change for English cricket, with a drink following the Test becoming common. The recommendation of the first edition of the policy only covered until the end of the match.
There are other adjustments as the ECB seeks to tighten policy. In section one, the words “on every day of an England men’s series/tour” have become “on every day of the duration of an England men’s home series and tour”.
It seems to be within management’s gift to modify policy as they see fit during a series. When England had a curfew between 2017 and 2022, he would regularly get up after a Test win so the players could let their hair down. Following the Trent Bridge test and Stokes’ retirement, England’s official social media account posted a photo of the captain holding a bottle of beer, suggesting the players were allowed to drink at the time.
The Rex Rooms saga became a crisis that Stokes admitted contributed to a retirement he had been considering during the Lord’s Test. It made the positions of Key and McCullum more unstable, and means England need a new Test captain, with white-ball captain Brook and veteran Joe Root, who stepped in at the Oval, the only realistic candidates.
Telegraph, London
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