In the same week that new laws governing cricket including where umpires can show a player the red card and send him off the field were being introduced, England’s star all rounder Ben Stokes found himself embroiled in a controversy that could cost him a place in the impending Ashes series.
The fact that this happened beyond the field of play adds to the irony of the situation: whether this will reduce the punitive action on Stokes remains to be seen, but gives the question of player behavior even more pertinence.
As we know, Stokes got into a brawl after a one day match against West Indies. He has been accused of assault and causing grievous hurt, though it must be said that complete details of the case are still to be ascertained. In media parlance, this is a developing story.
Stokes also suffered a fracture in one of his hands, but that was not the only reason why he (and opener Alex Hales’s, who was with him that fateful night) were left out of the remaining ODIs. The fact that international players were involved in such incident had made it embarrassing for the ECB to continue with them.
Any brawl, leaves aside a drunken one, does not reflect well on an international sportsperson. But as more video evidence emerged, it made things even worse for Stokes and the England cricket establishment.
The fight, and the all-rounder’s own role in it, doesn’t look condonable. Stokes’s aggression transcends ordinary disagreements and the fisticuffs that usually follow such fracas. It is in fact quite brutal.
Why a player of Stokes’s stature would imperil his future in such silly manner is a moot question. He has the cricket world at his feet currently. As the price paid for him in the last IPL reveals, he is also the most coveted cricketer in the game. Why risk everything?
But stardom can create a delusion of invincibility that has led to the downfall of many, as the history of sport tells us. Also, alcohol can play havoc particularly with somebody who is temperamentally fragile.
There have been instances in the past too where Stokes’s mercurial personality has come into conflict with rival players, though never with the seriousness as seen last week.
Unless there is clinching evidence which clears his role in the fracas, Stokes’s selection for the upcoming Ashes tour is in serious jeopardy. The fractured hand will heal, but not the serious battering his image has taken from critics and fans.
This has also put England’s selectors in a tight spot. Several former England players have already argued that Stokes should be saved the intense scrutiny he’ll certainly face Down Under which obviously a concern.
The Aussie media, players and even fans will be unrelentingly harsh as is only to be expected. But the more compelling question is whether Stokes deserves to be in the Ashes squad given the nature of his alleged misdemeanor.
The English establishment, never shy of highlighting the need for upholding the original ethos of the game, finds itself in a catch-22 situation. On the one hand is the ‘virtuousness’ of cricket to preserve, on the other, is the box office draw of the Ashes.
With the longest format under serious threat already, this could be a body blow nobody wants. But while cricket is imbued with too much of supercilious righteousness in my opinion, there has to be a line drawn somewhere.
Sportspersons have a responsibility to the sport, their team, country, fans and most importantly, upcoming players for whom they are role models. This equation cannot be upset, however big the player in my opinion.
Any leniency shown to Stokes unless, as mentioned earlier, hard evidence for this supports this would be more detrimental to the sport going ahead.
