Ben Stokes dropped from England Test squad after curfew breach

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has removed captain Ben Stokes and teammate Gus Atkinson from the squad for the second test of the New Zealand series. Both players were present after midnight at a London nightclub where a member of the team’s security staff was injured during an altercation with a rugby player. The ECB said it is investigating a breach of team protocols and the incident follows a reinstated midnight curfew that was introduced after the team's troubled Ashes tour.

Stokes, who helped devise the curfew, had celebrated the previous day's victory over New Zealand at Lord’s. The disciplinary action leaves England without its captain; the board has appointed former skipper Joe Root as interim captain while it considers further sanctions, including a possible alcohol ban for the squad.