Ben Stokes: Lord Bomham has criticized the England captain for breaching the team’s curfew and says there is no way to “justify” it.

Stokes has been He was named in Durham’s 15-man squad England’s future remains uncertain ahead of Friday’s County Championship game against Northamptonshire.

Boyam himself had a reputation for playing hard both on and off the field.

The 70-year-old said players of his era “liked to go out for a drink” but compared to today’s generation, they were “not very open”.

England were accused of drinking culture during the 2025-26 Ashes tour, losing 4-1.

Before the Ashes, white-ball captain Harry Brooke was punched in a nightclub on the eve of New Zealand’s one-day international in Wellington.

As a result, England imposed a midnight curfew on all players and staff.

“They went down 2-0 in Australia. What did the team do? Go to Noosa for five days and everybody knows what happened,” Botham said.

“I was in awe the other night. And the thing I couldn’t wrap my head around was what would he and the security guards do there if they knew they weren’t supposed to be there after midnight? He (Stokes) shouldn’t be overruled, because that shouldn’t happen.”

The former England captain, who scored 5,200 runs and took 383 wickets in 102 Tests, also said he would not be shocked if Stokes were to retire from cricket altogether.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Ben loses the captaincy, maybe he’ll walk away from the game. But I don’t know,” Botham added.

“I don’t know where it’s going now. I think something will happen no matter what.”

“To be honest, it was an unnecessary procedure and one that I think he will regret.”