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Ridiculous': Former England spinner slams ECB for imposing curfew on players amid Ben Stokes row originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Graeme Swann defends Ben Stokes over the Lord's Midnight Club incident while also calling England's midnight curfew rule ridiculous.
- Stokes and Gus Atkinson were involved in an altercation with Saracens academy player Totoa Auvaa and have been stood down pending an ECB investigation.
- Stokes has reportedly contemplated retirement from international cricket, with his captaincy also under serious threat from the ongoing investigation.
Former England spinner slams ECB for imposing curfew on players amid Ben Stokes row
Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson remain stood down from England duty after an early-hours nightclub altercation with Saracens academy player Totoa Auvaa. This incident has cast a very long shadow over English cricket just hours after their emphatic 115-run Test victory at Lord's.
Former England spinner Graeme Swann has entered the debate firmly on Stokes' side, delivering a sharp critique of the ECB's midnight curfew. Speaking to PTI, Swann argued that the ECB had poorly conceived the rule from the outset and should never have put it in place.
"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 reporters.
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Graeme Swann's defence of Stokes
Swann acknowledged the ECB's motivation for implementing the rule, citing an image-management agenda following high-profile controversies, but dismissed it as counterproductive. He made it clear that the lesson for the ECB should be never to introduce a curfew.
"I understand why they did it, because they're trying to paint a good picture to other people, to a PR side of it," Swann told PTI. "That doesn't work. I think they'll learn a lesson, the ECB, from that, that we shouldn't have done that at all."
Stokes remains at real risk of losing the England captaincy he has transformed since 2022, with genuine concerns that he could walk away from international cricket entirely. Reports suggest the 35-year-old has contemplated retirement, though sources close to him have not ruled out a return to action.
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The curfew on English players and its origins
The midnight curfew was implemented following criticism of player behaviour during the 2025-26 Ashes tour. Harry Brook attracted scrutiny for late-night celebrations during the series, while footage of Ben Duckett visibly intoxicated in Noosa between Tests circulated widely and was seen as damaging to England cricket's image.
"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 also aimed at fans who filmed and sold footage of players on nights out, dismissing them as opportunists.
He expressed hope that the ECB would retain Stokes as captain, warning that replacing his influence over this England generation would be an extraordinarily difficult task. He continued, "I do have a massive issue with the team curfew at midnight after winning a Test." In any case, the investigation is still ongoing, and before the ECB makes any final decision, Joe Root will lead the English side ahead of the second Test.
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