Former England spinner Graeme Swann has questioned the England Cricket Board’s (ECB) decision to impose a midnight curfew on players, saying England captain Ben Stokes has become a victim of a culture that is more focused on policing players than allowing them to celebrate success.Stokes came under scrutiny after footage emerged from post-Test celebrations at a nightclub following England’s win over New Zealand at Lord’s. Stokes and teammate Gus Atkinson were involved in an incident that also included Saracens academy rugby player Totoa Auvaa.Speaking to news agency PTI, Swann said he disagreed with the very idea of a curfew.“My thoughts are very mixed on this. The fact that there’s a curfew put in place is… I’m a former player. You will never, ever convince me that a curfew is a good thing. It’s ridiculous that they even did that in the first place,” Swann told PTI.Swann said the ECB appeared to be more concerned with optics than the realities of a dressing room environment.“I understand why they did it, because they’re trying to paint a good picture to other people, to a PR side of it. That doesn’t work. I think they’ll learn a lesson, the ECB, from that, that we shouldn’t have done that at all,” he said.According to Swann, it would have been better for the ECB to discuss team culture with players instead of imposing blanket restrictions.“We should have come out, sat down and actually talked about what we’re going to do as a culture and make sure we’re moving forward.”“But just to put a midnight curfew after winning a Test match, the day you’re not allowed to celebrate winning a Test match for your country is a dark day,” he said.Swann said he had no issue with Stokes celebrating a Test victory and believed the problem was with the rule itself.“I don’t think Ben Stokes has done anything wrong here, other than go against a rule that shouldn’t have been implemented in the first place.”He added that not enough facts about the nightclub incident were publicly known.“I don’t know the story, what happened. No one knows the story. So, I’m not even going to comment on that.”Returning to the curfew issue, Swann said:“Like I say, he celebrated winning the Test match. I have no issue with that whatsoever. I do have a massive issue with the team curfew at midnight after winning a Test.”The former off-spinner said professional cricketers should be trusted to act responsibly.“Before a Test, fine. You shouldn’t drink before or during a game. As a professional athlete, you shouldn’t be doing that. But that doesn’t need writing down on a piece of paper for me.”Swann also compared the reaction to Stokes with how major sporting successes are often celebrated.“I think England are playing in the Football World Cup at the minute. If they win that Football World Cup and went on a 10-day bender, we’d celebrate that as a country like you wouldn’t believe.”With Stokes left out of England’s squad for the second Test against New Zealand, questions have been raised about his future in the game. Swann said he hoped this would not mark the end of Stokes’ career.“I don’t know. I hope it’s not the end because he’s the best captain we’ve had, arguably, since Andrew Strauss. Alastair Cook’s not going to like that. Sorry, Cooky,”The Northampton man drew parallels with previous incidents involving England players and suggested the public discourse had become increasingly toxic.“This is what happened to Ben Duckett in the winter (during the Ashes in Australia). Who recorded it and sent that? This is supposed to be an England fan and they’ll pretend. They’ll say, ‘Oh, we’re doing it because we love our country.’ No, they’re doing it to try and make money.”“The culture we live in at the minute, we’re trying desperately to film someone doing it and knock them down, put them in the newspaper. I think it’s a sad time we live in. I really do.”
