England captain Ben Stokes and his rugby counterpart Maro Itoje drank £25 (Rs 3193) worth of double rum and Cokes before the nightclub outing resulted in a brawl between rugby players and cricket players, according to a report in The Daily Mail.
Stokes and teammate Gus Atkinson were spotted celebrating England’s first Test victory against New Zealand on Sunday night at the White Horse in Parsons Green, southwest London, alongside England rugby internationals.
However, reports state that a fight broke out over tables in the VIP area of Rex Rooms in Chelsea a few hours later. The venue has been described as ‘Chelsea’s naughtiest nightclub’ and is open till 3:30 am. The distance between the two clubs is 2.3 miles, or 16 minutes by car.
According to reports, Saracens player Toto Auvua is thought to have punched Atkinson, but instead hit an England Cricket Board security guard who was keeping an eye on the group, escalating the situation.
Nightclub Controversy
Stokes and Atkinson are reported to have escaped unharmed from the ensuing altercation. The report claims that a dispute over tables in a VIP section of the Rex Rooms set off the verbal altercation. Saracens confirmed that one of their players had been involved in an incident on Monday night. The two cricket players, who had been out drinking close to England’s Kensington hotel, did not start the fight, according to the report. The White Horse is less than a mile from the hotel.
Stokes, 35, came to the White Horse at approximately 9 PM, and workers said that he already seemed ‘tipsy’. Before departing at around 11 PM, he is reported to have stayed at the bar and ordered ‘enormous’ rounds, including many double rum and cokes that cost up to £25 per. There is a close relationship between the two groups; Ben Earl is a longtime friend of Zak Crawley, and Jamie George co-founded the local Boundary pub with other former England players.
Ben Stokes Considering International Retirement?
is reportedly considering retirement from in the aftermath of the nightclub incident that has put him under investigation by the England Cricket Board (ECB). ECB is looking into Stokes and Gus Atkinson for allegedly violating team rules. However, Senior Cricketer correspondent George Dobell told talkSPORT that he believes Stokes would take action before the ECB could.
“I fear from everything I hear that Stokes is going to act first. And, regretfully, I hear that he is going to step down and possibly even retire. I hope he brings this back from the brink like he has done so many games, but everything I hear is that he may well have been given some sort of ultimatum,” Dobell said.