England Test captain Ben Stokes has issued an apology to his teammates for missing the second Test against New Zealand after breaching team protocols. Stokes, who returned to lead the side in the series decider starting Thursday, expressed his desperation for a result.
Stokes admits breach, apologises to team
Speaking at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Stokes confirmed he had apologised to the squad. "Of course I apologised. That was one of the first things I had to do as a captain," he said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo. He acknowledged that the incident affected many people, including stand-in captain Joe Root and debutants whose big day was overshadowed. "That should have been all about them, but unfortunately, a situation outside of their control took precedence over their big days," Stokes added.
Background: Missed second Test after nightclub incident
Stokes and pacer Gus Atkinson missed the second Test at The Oval after an alleged breach of team curfew and an incident at a Chelsea nightclub following England's win in the first Test at Lord's. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Cricket Regulator investigated but issued only a formal written warning. England lost the second Test by 253 runs, with Joe Root captaining the side. The absence of Stokes and Atkinson compounded other absences: Ollie Robinson (injury) and Jamie Smith (paternity leave). Three players — James Rew, Sonny Baker, and Jordan Cox — made their Test debuts in that match but have been dropped for the decider.
Stokes takes responsibility as captain
Stokes emphasised the importance of accountability. "It is all fine and well, everything being fine and dandy when it is all going well, but you need to take responsibility for things as well. You need to be big enough and man enough to take that upon your shoulders, and look everyone who it has affected in the eye and apologise the way you need to apologise. That is something that I did," he said. His remorse is expected to quell debate over his future and that of coach Brendon McCullum and director Rob Key, who survived an ECB review after a 1-4 Ashes loss in Australia earlier this year.
Focus on series decider
Stokes said he used Tuesday to reconnect with his team. "Yesterday, the important thing for me as captain of the team was making sure that I was letting the lads know that I am back properly as the captain of this team. I did need to obviously say a few things and acknowledge a few things to the team, and the team only, and I feel like I voiced those quite well to everyone," he said. He added that everyone knows his concentration is on the game. "We are desperate to get the results. I am desperate to be the result. I think I have made a pretty good effort at making sure that the most important people know that, which is the team," he signed off.
England XI for third Test
England have named their playing XI for the third Test: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (capt), Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir. The match begins Thursday at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
