Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson will face no further punishment for the incident that followed the first Test at Lord’s after the Cricket Regulator found that they had not breached any ECB regulations.
The England captain and fast bowler were stood down from the second Test against New Zealand at the Oval after breaching a team curfew at a nightclub in Chelsea.
The pair have since been named in the England squad for the third Test at Trent Bridge with Stokes set to return as skipper following an ECB investigation that deemed that a written warning and the missing of the game at the Oval were sufficient punishment.
The Cricket Regulator, the body responsible for monitoring compliance with the game’s regulations, had been running a separate investigation but has now found, essentially, that the pair had no case to answer.
“Having carefully reviewed all currently available information, the Cricket Regulator has determined that there is insufficient evidence to establish that any regulatory breach occurred,” it said in a statement. “Accordingly, no further action will be taken against either player.”
The hosts suffered a heavy defeat as New Zealand squared the series at 1-1 with Joe Root captaining in the absence of Stokes.
The England Test captain is due to speak to the press on Wednesday for the first time since the events of a fortnight ago, before skippering the side in Nottingham.
He and Atkinson featured for Durham and Surrey respectively in the latest round of County Championship fixtures, with the all-rounder making 95 with the bat before being withdrawn ahead of his England return.
“Ben will be back and he’ll be captain. Everyone’s excited about that,” England head coach Brendon McCullum said. “I’ve been speaking to Ben every day since the incident. I’m not going to divulge our conversations because they are confidential. But I look forward to seeing him in a few days.
“There’s mutual respect there. I anticipate we’ll be able to work together really well and I’m sure both of us still have the same vision for this team. Occasionally there are going to be mistakes made and you can’t walk past when standards have slipped or mistakes have been made. You address it and you try to move on.”
