Ben Stokes will return as England captain for next week’s third Test against New Zealand, head coach Brendon McCullum has announced.
Stokes was stood down from the second Rothesay Test against New Zealand pending the results of an disciplinary investigation into a breach of team protocols in the early hours of June 8.
He instead turned out for Durham, scoring a rapid 95 on day two of their Rothesay County Championship clash against Northamptonshire on Saturday.
But on Sunday morning both Stokes and Gus Atkinson, also left out following his part in the breach of curfew, were removed from their respective county matches by England pending a recall.
And after England suffered a comprehensive 253-run loss to New Zealand at The Oval, McCullum confirmed Stokes would return for the third Test in Nottingham.
“Ben will be back. He’ll be back and he’ll be captain,” McCullum said.
“I think everyone is excited about that, especially after seeing him hit some form for Durham.
“I’ve been speaking to Ben every single day since we had the incident and my assessment was that I was worried about him. To see him go out there and play some cricket and look like he was enjoying himself is really positive.
open image in gallery“I’m not going to divulge our conversations because they are confidential but it’s great to see him back playing and I look forward to seeing him in a couple of days.”
McCullum and Stokes have both deflected previous suggestions that their working relationship had become strained over the course of the 4-1 Ashes defeat in the winter, but those suspicions have only increased given recent events.
McCullum and other members of the senior management were angry that attempts to introduce new standards of behaviour had faltered at the first hurdle this summer. Stokes, meanwhile, is thought to harbour his own frustrations and reportedly contemplated retiring with immediate effect at the height of tensions.
open image in galleryAsked if the pair could operate successfully again after a turbulent couple of weeks, the New Zealander said: “We’ve worked together intimately for four years, we’ve achieved some cool things and we’ve let ourselves down in other things.
“We have robust conversations all the way through and that’s to be expected when you’re in positions of leadership. There’s mutual respect there.
“I’ve been very clear and very supportive of Ben throughout and particularly this week as well. I anticipate we’ll be able to work together really well with the week coming and I’m sure both of us still have that same vision for this cricket team.”
There was, though, no question of brushing any indiscretions under the carpet.
McCullum said: “It’s really important to separate the actions from the man. I think as leaders we help set standards and we try to abide by them and live to them constantly. Occasionally there are going to be mistakes made and during those times you can’t walk past when standards have slipped or mistakes have been made.
“You address it and you try to move on.”