Ben Stokes, who recently retired from international cricket, dismissed the notion of England players having a drinking problem. The topic of alcohol and English cricket grabbed attention during the Ashes, where several players were reported to have been involved in binge drinking sessions. The matter became all the more worse after opening batter Ben Duckett was reportedly seen inebriated during the team’s mid-series break in Noosa.
Recently, Stokes also went out for drinks with pacer Gus Atkinson after the Lord’s Test win against New Zealand, and it was there that the duo were involved in a nightclub incident with an academy rugby player, for which they were left out of the team for the second Test.
Stokes returned for the series decider, but midway through the Trent Bridge Test, he announced his retirement from international cricket. Days after calling it quits, Stokes, 35, denied that there is a drinking culture within the senior England side; however, he accepted that cricket is closely linked to alcohol in the UK.
“No. That is such an extreme thing to put on a team. But I think cricket has a drinking culture, and it hasn’t changed. We are in 2026 now, where the game has gone more professional over the years. 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,” Stokes said in a wide-ranging interview with Stuart Broad and Jos Buttler on their For The Love Of Cricket podcast.
“That is the relationship between alcohol and cricket; it has not moved on as the game has become more professional. There’s 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. For people who think the English cricket team has a drinking culture, I would say no. I would just say cricket has a culture that is associated with alcohol,” he added.
What more did Stokes say?
Stokes himself has had problems with alcohol across his career. In 2017, he was arrested for a brawl in Bristol while drunk after an ODI against West Indies. He later revealed that he gave up liquor; however, after England beat New Zealand at Lord’s in June, he went out for drinks and was accused of breaking the team’s curfew.
“I think it can be a problem. If you look at everything over the years, a lot of people who have been involved in cricket have had bad relationships with alcohol. I don’t know what you do to change it. It’s just one of those things that… I have had, I don’t want to say problems, but I’ve had relationships with alcohol over my career that have been potentially dangerous, if that makes sense. But that is completely different to me now,” said Stokes.
“There is a relationship with alcohol that has been the same since the 1980s, as the game has got better and better, that has stayed around. That is my opinion on cricket and alcohol,” he added.
