ICC asks ECB to explain Ben Stokes retirement video

LONDON: The International Cricket Council has asked the England and Wales Cricket Board to clarify why footage of Ben Stokes telling teammates about his retirement from international cricket was recorded and released during England's third Test against New Zealand.

The ECB made Stokes' decision public by posting the video on social media on the fourth day of the third and final Test of the home series. The ICC is understood to believe the move may have breached its standards covering Players' and Match Officials' Areas at international matches.

ICC cites PMOA provision

Under Article 2.2.11 of the PMOA minimum standards, national cricket boards are required to "ensure that 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".

The ICC sent a letter to the ECB on Saturday saying the board had violated that provision by recording and broadcasting both video and audio of Stokes' dressing-room address before the Test had ended.

The ICC had previously informed the ECB that any material filmed in the PMOA should not include audio and should not be published before the close of play in a match.

Stokes described release as planned

Stokes had also spoken about the timing of the public announcement when he addressed broadcasters at the end of the penultimate day of the deciding Test. He said it was arranged jointly by his representatives and the ECB.

"I just said, 'You guys work with Michael Lumb and Neil Fairbrother, who work with me, and you guys just come up with a plan", he stated.

That explanation came after the ECB's social media release of the dressing-room footage during live match play, a point now central to the ICC's request for clarification.