Ben Stokes: England cricket may consider alcohol ban after nightclub incident, says Rob Key

Stokes and Atkinson are the subject of an investigation by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and have been ruled out of the second Test at least pending the outcome of the inquiry, which starts on June 17.

In a statement released on Monday, the ECB said the pair had breached the curfew. Stokes, 35, and Atkinson, 28, were later found when a member of England’s security staff was punched by Saracens rugby player Totoa Auva. The security guard was bleeding and needed treatment.

Key has confirmed that he has kept the clock in the series against New Zealand and Atkinson said he did not know he was working when the first Test ended on Sunday.

“He hasn’t told me that,” said Kay, who was asked by BBC Sport whether Stokes resigned as captain and felt he might retire from the game.

Asked whether Stokes would play for England again, Key replied: “I don’t see why not.”

But if Stokes continues as captain, in his position from 2022, Key has made no guarantees.

“There’s a lot of things that happen before that,” Key said. “We have to carry out the investigation, find out exactly what happened, we are in this period, after that no decision will be made.”

The button that was pressed on the subject replied: “It is only allowed to be done, no decisions have been made on our part.

“We haven’t given him an ultimatum, we’ve been talking to him all the time to make sure he’s OK. Obviously, it’s been a terrible time for him in the last few days. You don’t want to make any decisions when you’re like that. Time is our partner in this.”

Harry Brooke is Stokes’ vice-captain in the Test team, but the captaincy has been handed over to Joe Root for the second Test from Wednesday.

Brook, 27, was involved in his own nightclub controversy in October when he was hit by a bouncer in Wellington, the night before he led England to a one-day international against New Zealand.

Although Key said there were “many reasons” why Brooke was not selected for the second Test, the former Kent batsman admitted it was “very difficult” to make Brooke the captain, given what happened in Wellington.

“That would be one of them,” Wellington said when asked if there was a reason for not promoting Brooke to Test captain. “That’s not the main reason, that’s for sure.

“I don’t feel it’s the right time now. That’s the decision we’ve made. Test captaincy is a big job, even in the interim, especially going into this next Test match and everything Harry has to deal with.”

An overview of England’s away form over the winter has seen a 4-1 Ashes series defeat at home.

The ECB conducted a review of the Australia tour, and opted to keep Key, Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum on their books.