LONDON – Former England captain Michael Vaughan has called for a change in the culture of the national team after Ben Stokes’ arrest on a night out.
Stokes was arrested in Bristol on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm after getting into a fight in the early hours of last Monday.
Video footage allegedly shows the England all-rounder throwing punches and knocking a man to the floor.
Stokes, who has not been charged, and other England teammates were out celebrating a one-day international win over West Indies less than 72 hours before their next game.
Vaughan believes that was a poor decision, and says England’s management need to address how their players behave.
“Yes, he’s 26 years of age, he should be more mature, he has made a massive mistake and I have no sympathy for Ben Stokes whatsoever,” Vaughan told the BBC on Tuesday.
“But the management of the England team have to look at themselves in the mirror and say, ‘Hang on a minute, could we have done a bit more, could we have been a bit stricter?’.
“I am not saying I want a headmaster and have a curfew and say, ‘You have got to be in your room by 11pm and you can never drink’, but there is a time and a place and I just think now, with what has gone on this week, the culture of cricket has to change quickly.”
Stokes has been involved in drink-related stories before, having been sent home from a 2013 Lions tour, while it has been reported he was out partying during a Test match at Old Trafford this summer.
“A story came out this week that Ben Stokes was out until 3am during a Test match in Manchester,” Vaughan added.
“If I knew it and the media knew it, how come anything wasn’t done to Ben Stokes in the England team?
“When we go on tour, we go to Australia, to India, to Bangladesh, there is a huge amount of security, there is no way in a million years an England player is allowed out.
“They’re allowed to go and party, but there is no way they are allowed out on their own at that time of night.”