It’s never too late for some

England captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson were in hot waters recently for breaking a team curfew after the opening Test against New Zealand at Lordrsquos We probably wouldnrsquot know about the breach had it not been for their scrap with Saracens rugby player Totoa Auvaa The England teamrsquos security officer accompanying the duo was so badly hurt that he needed stitches Metaphorically too this incident has hurt English cricket opening up talk of a drinking culture in the teamTeam curfew is serious business but there are funny stories galore about players and latenight restrictionsThe late Dilip Sardesai once told me how he caught a few nightlifeloving India players returning late when he was team manager for the Delhi Test against West Indies in 1983 Discovering they were out for the night Sardesai decided to keep awake at the hotel reception to ldquoreceiverdquo them deep into the night Knowing him he wouldnrsquot have held back the hard talkFarokh Engineer who was Sardesairsquos teammate on the 1971 tour to England liked being out late too He once revealed that he placed pillows under a bed sheet in an attempt to hoodwink strict manager Hemu Adhikari who would invariably come and check for lsquofull attendancersquo in rooms occupied by two playersAdhikari believed Engineerrsquos roomie when he said the flamboyant batsmanwicketkeeper was fast asleep Engineer who has followed the ongoing controversy in England closely since he lives there told me from Cheshire on Wednesday ldquoWe did each other a couple of favours too But we always were aware of our responsibilities and never got blind drunk or got into any brawls like some of the England players do these daysldquoKolkata was the main place in NovemberDecember when we were regularly invited to some great parties I always remember my dadrsquos words lsquoSon if yoursquore not in bed by midnighthellip get up and go homersquo ldquoGarfield Sobers the greatest living allround cricketer 90 in July was never one to hit the sack early His stories are legendary Knowing his penchant for latenight parties his captain Frank Worrell had no curfew rule for him and Sobers knew well that if he didnrsquot perform up to expectations the critics would rush to point to his late nightsIn Twenty Years at the Top Sobers wrote ldquoMy lsquolive for todayrsquo approach was really fostered by the late Sir Frank Worrell He liked to enjoy himself after matches and I remember many nights when we sat up together in hotels talking and drinking There was a curfew for the team but he used to say to me Thatrsquos not for you I know you well enough What he meant was that he recognised we had a lot in common He knew that if I went to bed early I wouldnrsquot sleep My view about sleep is that you go to bed when you are tired If you still have plenty of energy to burn you burn itrdquoIn the same book Sobers revealed how he scored the last of two Test hundreds at Lordrsquos in 1973 after being out till 5 am and returning to the hotel where he didnrsquot sleep He admitted not seeing the ball when he resumed his innings at 31 ldquoBob Willis then 24 and bowling at his fastest beat me several times and I remember saying to myself Just play straightrdquoAt the end of the day a playerrsquos mental makeup gets into the mix Dr Rudi Webster the Grenada based sports psychologist and former team manager of the West Indies team in an interview with Australian journalist Roland Fishman on the 1991 tour of the Caribbean revealed what happened in World Series Cricket in Australia Joel Garner had to go out at night but there was a 12 am curfew imposed And Webster told the giant fast bowler ldquoStay in the hotel till until midnight and then go outrdquo ldquoItrsquos different for everyonerdquo emphasised WebsterSome players like to go out others prefer to have an early night in their hotel room Vijay Merchant Indiarsquos batting technician was one such player The late Rusi Modi the India batsman of the late 1940s and early 1950s visited Merchantrsquos room on the eve of the Oval Test in 1946 The conversation was very brief because Merchant said he had to sleep early to score a century the following day When Modi indicated that his chances were not so bright considering the strong England attack Merchant remarked ldquoSo whatrdquo The next day Merchant stayed unbeaten on 30 on a rainaffected pitch and got a hundred on Day Two a knock Modi described as a ldquomagnificent 128rdquoCurfewimposing will be viewed by some as childish if not laughable in this day and age The better way to deal with it is through extended nonselection of players who get into barstreet boxing or wrestling bouts or disgrace themselves in other ways remember Ben Duckett captured drunk and helpless during the 202526 AshesStokes and Atkinson are already feeling the pinch and hopefully their teammates have taken notemiddayrsquos Deputy Editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper