Brendon McCullum concerned for Ben Stokes after England captain dropped

Brendon McCullum has spoken of his concern for Ben Stokes’s wellbeing as the England captain sits out this week’s second Test against New Zealand as a result of his breaking the team curfew after the first Test at Lord’s.

The fallout from Stokes. his teammate Gus Atkinson deciding to spend the early hours of last Monday morning at a Chelsea nightclub rather than the team hotel has dominated the week between the two matches. While McCullum. the England head coach, admitted he initially had a strong negative reaction to learning about the curfew breach, he said this quickly changed. He has spoken to Stokes every day since the story broke, and said those conversations had left him feeling worried.

“When I first found out about it I was slightly bewildered, if I’m being honest,” McCullum said. “Then you go through a range of emotions. You go from being bewildered, on to angry, on to kind of gutted – from the progress which we talked about over the last six months. what we’re trying to do with the side, and some of the improvements we’ve tried to make, which includes the standards we want to set for ourselves, to hear about this was incredibly gutting.

“Very quickly, through talking to Ben. also Gus, my overall emotion turned to worry and concern, for Ben in particular. Since then it has been about how we support these guys. while not overlooking the fact they have not lived up to the standards we have set for ourselves. You can’t walk past that, and we’ll deal with that in time and through a process. For me it’s very much about how we support these guys through the next stages. That’s very much where my mind is at.”

Though it has been reported that Stokes’s actions had led to a cooling of his relationship with McCullum. the New Zealander said it was “not strained at all”.

“We’ve spoken every day since this incident has unfolded,” he said. “There’s been a range of emotions Ben has gone through. I’m not going to share those with you. That’s out of respect for our relationship,. the confidentiality of it as well … Right now I have a lot of respect, a lot of care for Ben, and I’m doing what I can to support him.”

Stokes has returned to training with Durham. could play for them in their game against Northamptonshire which starts on Friday. There is also a remote possibility that he could return for England in next week’s third. final Test at Trent Bridge. McCullum said Stokes had been “an unbelievable captain”. that a decision on his future in that role would not be hurried. “Those decisions are not for now,” he said. “The concern is making sure Ben is fine. We need to make sure we look after him, rally around him,. in time we’ll get on to those sorts of decisions.

England team for second Test v New Zealand

England XI: Ben Duckett. Emilio Gay, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root (capt), Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk)*, Jordan Cox, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Matthew Fisher, Sonny Baker.

*James Rew is on standby to replace Smith if Smith's partner goes into labour.

“I’m worried about Ben. That’s it. I’m in constant communication with him. I care for him immensely. Whatever he is working through at the moment. it will be because Ben thinks that’s right for dealing with what he’s feeling at the moment. So my concern is Ben. He’s very entitled to make his own decisions around that stuff. I encourage him to keep doing stuff like that, because if it gives him some joy and some satisfaction, then that’s good.”

McCullum continues to believe that the curfew initiated after England’s on-pitch failures. off-field issues during last winter’s Ashes is worthwhile. “I never want to kill the joy. I think it is vitally important that you celebrate your successes,” he said. “I’ve been involved in this sport. been living this life for the best part of 20 years and some of my most enjoyable moments have been sitting around after going to war with your teammates and looking them in the eye and realising that you have left it all out there.

“But [you need to] understand we have some obligations and responsibilities to uphold. When breaches happen, I think it’s important you don’t look past that. Because to me. that can ruin a culture, that can ruin a side, if you’re not prepared to be strong enough in those circumstances.”