Following the win over New Zealand, England captain Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson got into a brawl in a nightclub. After the ECB investigation, both of them may be dropped from the next Test and Stokes may also be stripped of his captaincy.
London: After a spectacular win in the first Test against New Zealand, England captain Ben Stokes and his teammate Gus Atkinson got into a fight in a nightclub. After this incident, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is preparing to take disciplinary action against both. These two players, who broke team protocol and went to a midnight party in a London nightclub, may be dropped from the second Test. There is even a possibility of Stokes being stripped of the captaincy of the Test team.
ECB investigation has revealed that these cricketers, who had reached the club in the enthusiasm of winning the match, had a clash with a rugby player there. This incident has shocked the fans and now everyone wants to know who is the rugby player who messed with Stokes and Atkinson. The search has ended with Totowa Auwa, the academy player of the famous rugby club Saracens.
Who is Totowa Auwa?
Totowa Auwa, the 21-year-old who clashed with Ben Stokes and Atkinson in the nightclub, is an academy player at Saracens, The Times reports. This Samoan player may be 21 years old, but anyone will be surprised to hear his physique. Auwa’s height is 6 feet 5 inches and weight is 125 kg. However, Auwa is yet to debut for Saracens’ senior team. The incident happened when the England team was celebrating defeating New Zealand by 115 runs at Lord’s.
According to ‘The Sun’ report, Auwa tried to punch Stokes and Atkinson after an argument with England cricketers in a nightclub. But both of them saved themselves and that punch went straight to the face of the players’ security guard. Due to this injury, stitches had to be given on the guard’s face.
Night party by breaking the rules, will Stokes be punished?
After losing badly in the last Ashes series, there was a lot of debate about excessive drinking and unprofessional attitude in the England team. After this, in January this year, a strict ban was imposed on players going out at night. Despite these rules, Captain Stokes himself was found fighting in the club at midnight.
In the match that ended on Sunday, Gus Atkinson took 5 wickets for 30 runs and led England to a spectacular victory. Stokes also took one wicket. This shameful incident happened after this victory. The second Test against New Zealand is to start from June 17 at The Oval. The ECB will investigate the matter further, only after which a final decision will be taken on keeping Stokes and Atkinson in the team.