There was a lot of worry among the English fans and ex-cricketers, as to what would happen to skipper Ben Stokes, following a London nightclub incident, along with pacer Gus Atkinson. The duo were not part of the 2nd Test in Kennington Oval as well. But all’s well, that ends well. While Stokes returns as the skipper for the final Test at Trent Bridge, Atkinson is also included in the squad, for the June 25 fixture.
No penalty on Ben Stokes, Gus Atkinson
The disciplinary hearing came to a conclusion finally, and the ECB said in a statement, “that no blame should be attached to the players for violent conduct at the nightclub”. The ECB also added that Stokes was not involved in the incident, and did not witness it either. Atkinson came out as the victim.
“People always have a difference of opinion and see things differently. From my point of view, I have been speaking to Ben every day since we had the incident to try and be supportive,” ENG coach Brendon McCullum told Sky Sports. “You’ve got to separate the actions from the man, so I was disappointed in the actions and us not meeting the standards which we set for ourselves, but then you support the man, and I’ve always firmly believed in that, and in Stokes’s case, that’s no different.
“You had to go through a process, you had to wait for what the regulator came out with. It’s an internal disciplinary process, which we needed to go through as well,” he added. In fact, the coach is already looking at the last match of the series, to be able to make a comeback.
“I’m looking forward to next week. It’d be nice to have the opportunity to try and close out a series win against the very good New Zealand side. If we’re able to do that, then I think it’d be a mighty achievement, particularly after the last week or so, which has been very difficult on a number of people,” he said.
Apart from getting back Stokes and Atkinson, the management has made a few other changes. James Rew and Sonny Baker go out, and so does Henry Crocombe. Jamie Smith is all set to comeback for the third Test, who had missed out due to paternity leave.
England squad for third Test: Ben Stokes (C), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue
