Stokes camp riled by ECB mixed messages
THE Ben Stokes affair, which has already derailed England’s defence of the Ashes after his involvement in the Bristol street brawl, is now the subject of more friction between the two camps.
The England Cricket Board are making no secret of the fact that they don’t agree with the way Stokes has been advised by his agent Neil Fairbrother.
On the other side, Fairbrother, who runs the cricketing arm of Chubby Chandler’s ISM sports agency, is said to be exasperated at the conflicting messages he has received from the ECB over their attitude to Stokes.
It’s understood to have moved from supportive to dismissive after the Ashes were lost, with different executives having different opinions.
The role of numerous lawyers involved in the Stokes case can’t have helped Fairbrother keep in full control of the saga and the Crown Prosecution Service dragging their feet on whether to charge Stokes has complicated matters further.
The relationship between Fairbrother and the ECB is a critical one as the former Lancashire batsman also represents England captain Joe Root as well as Stuart Broad, James Vince, Jos Buttler and Mason Crane. l CRICKET Australia recognised the 40th anniversary of the 1977 Centenary Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground by inviting that Aussie team and their partners to dinner at the nearby Pullman Hilton Hotel last night. Ironically, that was the also venue during the Centenary Test for the clash between Ian Botham and Ian Chappell that sparked one of cricket’s greatest feuds. They each have different accounts. Botham (right) claims he gave Chappell three warnings for Pommie-baiting before knocking him off his bar stool and chasing him out of the bar. Chappell says he was pushed in the chest by a drunk and hysterical Botham before he walked away. Neither of the cricket greats, who still can’t stand each other, played in the Centenary Test but their encounter is better remembered than the match. THE fallout from surrendering the Ashes has already begun at the ECB with preliminary discussions about the merits of having a tour manager in charge of player discipline. And one of the names being considered is Middlesex boss Angus Fraser, who would command the necessary respect from all sides. l YOU needed a wide-angle lens to capture a team photo of the BT Sport team in Perth. They numbered 51, which is a lot more than Sky Sports sent on previous Ashes tours and works out at roughly one BT employee Down Under for every 2,000 viewers of the series.