ECB Faces ICC Probe Over Ben Stokes Retirement Video

London. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has landed in controversy after posting a video of captain Ben Stokes discussing retirement with his teammates during the Trent Bridge Test.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sent a written letter to the ECB for violating rules related to the Code of Conduct for Test Cricket.

Stokes surprised everyone by announcing his retirement while bowling in the recent match against New Zealand. The ECB released the news about 15 minutes before tea on the fourth day of the match. Along with the news, the ECB also released a video of Stokes informing his teammates about his retirement in the dressing room before the start of the game that morning.

According to the BBC, releasing a video from the dressing room while the game is in progress is considered a violation of the Player and Match Officials Area (PMOA) standards in international sports. Under Article 2.2.11 of the PMOA rules, designed for corruption control, no team is allowed to keep any kind of camera or recording equipment inside the dressing room for the purpose of audio or video broadcast.

It is understood that the ICC had previously informed the ECB not to release any audio or video from the dressing room before the end of the match. Although the ECB has refused to comment on this matter, it is said that the possibility of it being penalized is low.

Stokes had handed over the responsibility of how to announce his retirement to the management team. He took a wicket with the very first ball after his retirement announcement and scored 30 runs batting in the second innings. However, England lost the match to New Zealand by a huge margin.

In the video, Stokes told his teammates, 'These are my last two days as captain and player. All I want is that no matter what the result of the game, I feel that this team has given its 100% when leaving the field. We will share the rest of the emotions after the game, now it's time to work.'

After Stokes' retirement, Harry Brook appears to be the frontrunner in the race to become England's new captain. England's white-ball team, captained by Brook, currently holds a 2-0 lead in the T20 series against India.