England Cricket Captain Ben Stokes has opened up candidly to Spencer Matthews about how he can finally enjoy ‘a glass of wine with his wife’ without getting blind drunk
Ben Stokes OBE, who is returning to lead the England Cricket Team this upcoming week, has lifted the lid in a rare and eye-opening interview about how his relationship with alcohol has changed – admitting that in his younger days, he would go all out and lose entire hours when he just ‘can’t remember what he did’.
“When I was younger, the relationship I had with booze was – I could never see the point of having a couple. It was all or nothing…Whereas now, I don’t want to get into that state. Having huge nights out. The process to get there is the fun bit but then, wow, that was a waste of two or three hours. I can’t remember what I did”, he says.
Wearing his heart on his sleeve during a new episode of Spencer Matthews podcast Untapped, out on Monday 19 May, Ben – who lives in Castle Eden, County Durham with his wife Clare Ratcliffe and their two children Layton, 12, and Libby, 9, confessed: “I’m not sober but I haven’t had a drink in ages… I can have a social drink, now.”
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His past drinking habits, he gutsily admits, also had a negative effect on his seven-year marriage. “It used to drive my wife Claire mad that I would just be all or nothing. If we’d go for a nice dinner… I never really understood why it was so frustrating to her but all she wanted to do is share a glass of wine with her husband. Now I get it. I understand it and I can appreciate it for what it is, not just to get me pissed.”
Ben has binned alcohol during his recent injury rehab in a determined effort to be at the top of his game for England this season. The England Test captain is poised to return to action on Thursday in a one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, having been out of the game since December with a torn left hamstring sustained in New Zealand.
Keen not to repeat past mistakes of rushing back from a similar injury, Stokes has been meticulously following a managed recovery plan post-surgery. Reflecting during the podcast, the 33-year-old said: “After my first major injury, I remember the shock of it, after the initial adrenaline had stopped, thinking, ‘How has this happened? We did have a bit of a drink four or five nights ago, could that have played a part? It wouldn’t have helped’.
“Then I was like ‘OK, I need to start changing what I do’. I don’t think I’ll ever be completely sober, but I’ve not had a drink since January 2. I said to myself ‘Not until I finish my injury rehab and get back on the field’.
The sporting star also admits that the culture of alcohol in cricket has completely changed in the last couple of decades. “In the 90s and 00’s there were unbelievable stories (about drinking). It’s one of these things with cricket, you have a hard day in the dirt and, and then have a couple of beers with your mates in the dressing room and then you go again”, he says.
“It’s definitely settled down a lot over the years. The game is more demanding on the body than it was. There’s so much more cricket, there’s so much more in the schedule that it’s just impossible for the body to be able to withstand all of that anyway without the downsides of what a couple of beers at the end of the day can do to you for the next day.… We’ve got some zero drinkers in the team.
He adds: “The stigma around not drinking is different now. Nowadays it’s completely different and the younger generation, there isn’t that same mindset towards having a beer or going out. There is much more emphasis on proper preparation and better recovery. It’s different in society now, too, towards everything. Like social media, I’ve got a 12-year-old and a 10-year-old and any opportunity (on their phones). I’m like, ‘Please just get off your phone!’ The change is happening in front of your eyes.”
The full interview with Ben Stokes is available on UNTAPPED with Spencer Matthews, Monday 19 May, wherever you get your podcasts.
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