Former England spinner Graeme Swann The England Cricket Board (ECB) has questioned the decision to impose a midnight curfew on the players, the English captain. Ben Stokes has fallen victim to a culture that focuses more on policing than allowing athletes to celebrate success.Stokes came under scrutiny after footage emerged of post-Test celebrations in a nightclub following England’s win over New Zealand at Lord’s. Stokes and team-mate Gus Atkinson were involved in an incident involving Saracens academy rugby player Totuwa Owa.Speaking to news agency PTI, Swann said that he did not agree with the idea of curfew at all.“My thoughts are very mixed on this. The fact that there is a curfew… I am a former athlete. You will never convince me that curfew is a good thing. It’s funny that they did this before,” Swann told PTI.Swann said the ECB appeared to be more concerned about optics than the realities of the dressing room environment.“I understand why they did it, because they’re trying to make a good image for other people, on the PR side of it. It doesn’t work. I think they’ll learn a lesson from this, the ECB, that we shouldn’t have done that at all,” he said.According to Swann, it would have been better for the ECB to discuss team culture with the players instead of imposing blanket sanctions.“We should have come out, sat down and actually talked about what we’re going to do as a culture and make sure we’re moving forward.”“But just to impose a midnight curfew after winning a Test match, a day when you are not allowed to celebrate a Test match win for your country is a black day,” he said.Swann said he had no problem with Stokes celebrating a Test victory and believed the problem was with the rule itself.“I don’t think Ben Stokes did anything wrong here, other than going against a rule that shouldn’t have been applied in the first place.”He added that not enough facts about the nightclub incident were publicly known.“I don’t know the story, what happened, nobody knows the story, so I’m not even going to comment on that.”Returning to the curfew issue, Swan said:“As I say, he celebrated a Test match win. I have no problem with that. I have a bigger problem with the team curfew at midnight after a Test win.”The former off-spinner said that professional cricketers should be trusted to act responsibly.“Before the test, fine. You shouldn’t drink before or during the game. As a professional athlete, you shouldn’t. But it doesn’t require me to write it down on a piece of paper.”Swann also compared Stokes’ reaction to how major sporting achievements are often celebrated.“I think England are playing in the World Cup at the moment. If they win the World Cup and go on a 10-day bender, we’ll be celebrating in a way that a country like yours wouldn’t believe.”After Stokes was left out of the England squad for the second Test against New Zealand, questions are being raised about his future in the game. Swann said he hoped it would not end Stokes’ career.“I don’t know. I hope it doesn’t end because he’s the best captain we’ve had since Andrew Strauss.The Northampton man drew parallels with previous incidents involving England players and suggested the public discourse had become increasingly toxic.“That’s what happened to Ben Duckett over the winter (during the Ashes in Australia). Who recorded it and sent it? It’s supposed to be an England fan and they’ll pretend. They’ll say, ‘Oh, we’re doing it because we love our country.’ No, they are trying to make money.”“In the culture we live in right now, we’re trying so hard to get somebody doing this on film and take it down, put it in the paper. I think it’s a sad time we live in. I really do.”
