Ben Stokes will return as England captain against New Zealand next week, with head coach Brendon McCullum claiming the team will “try to move on” after a damaging episode that has left plenty of questions still to answer.
Little over an hour after a barely recognisable England side were swept aside by 253 runs at the Kia Oval, McCullum confirmed Stokes would return from a brief exile to lead his country out at Trent Bridge in Thursday’s series decider.
Stokes and Gus Atkinson had been pulled out of stints with their respective counties in the morning, paving the way for their selection after being stood down following a nightclub incident in the early hours of June 8.
The England and Wales Cricket Board’s investigation into what it deemed “a breach of team protocols” has yet to be formally concluded, with a probe by the independent Cricket Regulator also ongoing. But the fact that Stokes’ captaincy has already been rubberstamped suggests the findings may not be bad news for the 35-year-old.
More detail is expected on Monday, with England due to train in Nottingham on Tuesday, but uncertainty lingers over whether the captain and coach can rekindle their previously tight working relationship and whether the rules Stokes and Atkinson stood accused of breaking were sufficiently clear.
On Stokes’ return, McCullum offered an optimistic assessment despite months of speculation that the ill-fated winter tour of Australia had compromised their bond.
“Ben will be back. He’ll be back and he’ll be captain,” McCullum said.
“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. 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 team.”
He added: “We’ve worked together intimately for four years, we’ve achieved some cool things and we’ve let ourselves down in other things. But 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.”
When it comes to the details of the new, more stringent protocols that were introduced in response to a number of alcohol-related issues over the winter, there remains uncertainty.
Rob Key, the ECB’s managing director of men’s cricket, said last week that Atkinson claimed he did not know the midnight curfew was in operation after the completion of a game. In response, Key said the details had been communicated via the Team England Player Partnership – an umbrella group representing those with central contracts – and were widely known.
Asked for his view, McCullum said: “Look, even if there is ambiguity I think we’ve sat here and talked about the curfew, talked about standards.
“I think fundamentally when you represent your country you have certain standards you need to live up to. You’re not just representing yourself, you’re representing your family, the fans, the country and you’re being paid to do it.
“You’ve got to have certain standards you need to adhere to. To suggest that perhaps whilst there may not have been a hard blueprint potentially – I mean, like a hard factual [curfew] – everyone knew what was going on.”
With scrutiny unlikely to dial down when Stokes returns to lead the team in Nottingham, McCullum concluded: “There’s never a dull day in English cricket is there?
“Our job as leaders is to try and remain calm and clear and make sure we’re able to navigate through these things.”
