Former England cricketer Ben Stokes has stated that the drinking culture in cricket has not changed over the years and that it is wrong to claim that just the English side has players who consume alcohol.
During the Ashes, rumours of several cricket players engaging in binge drinking sessions brought attention to the issue of alcohol and English cricket. Following claims that starter Ben Duckett was observed drunk during the team’s mid-series break in Noosa, the controversy grew more heated.
After England’s Lord’s Test triumph over New Zealand, Stokes and bowler Gus Atkinson went out for drinks, drawing criticism. The two were excluded from the squad for the second Test after getting into a fight with an academy rugby player at a nightclub.
Ben Stokes On Drinking Culture
“No. That is such an extreme thing to put on a team. But I think cricket has a drinking culture and it has not changed. We are in 2026 now, where the game has gone more professional over the years,” Stokes said while speaking on the For the Love of Cricket podcast.
“But one thing that has just stayed within cricket is its relationship with alcohol; from club cricket, it works its way up. It stays there and is embedded within the sport. That is the relationship between alcohol and cricket; it hasn’t moved on as the game has become more professional,” Stokes added.
Throughout his career, the former player has appeared to struggle with alcohol. Following an ODI against the West Indies in 2017, was arrested following a late-night altercation in Bristol while intoxicated.
“There is more science and medicine, more nutritional information, more this and that. One thing that has been a constant and has been for a very long time is the relationship with alcohol,” Ben Stokes said.