Ben Stokes’ Farewell Video Raises Questions for ECB
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has contacted the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) regarding Ben Stokes‘ public announcement of his retirement from international cricket during the third Test match at Trent Bridge versus New Zealand.
On the fourth day of the game, word leaked out about the former England captain’s choice. Ben Stokes gave his teammates a recorded speech in the dressing room before to the start of play on Sunday, announcing his retirement. Soon before the tea break, the video was shared with broadcasters and circulated on social media.
The ICC, however, claims that the release of the video during the game violated its minimal requirements for the Players’ and Match Officials’ Areas (PMOA).
National cricket boards are required by Article 2.2.11 of the PMOA regulations to make sure that “no fixed or temporary video cameras or other recording equipment set up within any dressing room used by the teams for the purposes of broadcasting video or audio footage.”
The ICC claimed in a letter written on Saturday that the ECB had broken this clause by recording and airing the audio and video of Ben Stokes ‘ speech in the dressing room prior to the conclusion of the Test.
The governing body added that it had already informed the ECB that any video taken inside the PMOA could not contain audio or be made public until the game was over.
Speaking at the end of the fourth day’s action, Ben Stokes clarified that the ECB and his representatives had decided on the announcement’s timing.
When the news was made public, Ben Stokes was in the middle of a bowling period and dismissed New Zealand’s Zak Foulkes with his very next delivery.
In an effort to bolster anti-corruption procedures in international cricket, the ICC established the PMOA minimum criteria. Regarding the issue, neither the ICC nor the ECB have made any public remarks.
A day before the Women’s T20 World Cup final at Lord’s, where ECB head Richard Thompson met with ICC chairman Jay Shah, the ICC sent a letter. The ECB has not yet formally replied to the message from the governing body.
