No action will be taken by the International Cricket Council (ICC) over Ben Stokes’ retirement video.
Stokes’ farewell address to the England dressing room, in which he announced his retirement during the fourth day’s play of last month’s final Test against New Zealand, is understood to have attracted the attention of the world governing body.
The video was released on England’s social media channels and later broadcast on TV but, under the ICC’s anti-corruption minimum standards, there are restrictions on filming inside dressing rooms without prior approval.
The Press Association understood the ICC wrote to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), but the matter has now been resolved.
England captain Stokes had returned for the third Test after missing the second match of the series following an off-field incident.
His retirement announcement on the fourth day came as a surprise. It was made public while Stokes was bowling, and he took a wicket with the very next ball.
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Ben Stokes takes a wicket moments after announcing his retirement from international cricket on day four of the third Test against New Zealand.
England went on to lose the match and the series 2-1 the following day.
Reacting on social media to a report on the initial story about the ICC looking into the video, Stokes on Thursday wrote on X: “Sack him …”
Dressing rooms are part of a protected zone known as the players and match officials area (PMOA), which is governed by a set of principles known as the ICC’s minimum standards. The governing body upholds these in order to comply with its anti-corruption code.
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Eoin Morgan and Michael Atherton debate what the next steps are for England cricket after Ben Stokes’ retirement.
For international matches article 2.2.11 of the standards says national federations must ensure “there are 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”. Any exceptions must be agreed ahead of time with the nominated anti-corruption manager.
An additional guideline suggests any such exceptions of video footage should feature no audio and be for a maximum of two minutes.
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