Ben Stokes apologises after nightclub scandal
Will Macpherson, Nick Hoult and Luke Slater
Ben Stokes has apologised to his England team after returning from a “frustrating” disciplinary process to captain in a series decider in Nottingham.
Stokes and Gus Atkinson missed the second Test defeat at the Oval while under investigation for a breach of the team’s curfew in a Chelsea nightclub after the opening win against New Zealand at Lord’s. They are now back for the final Test at Trent Bridge on Thursday, having been given a written warning at the end of a convoluted disciplinary process.
Before the team trained on Tuesday (local time), Stokes said sorry for the trouble he had caused, reserving a particularly heartfelt apology for his old friend Joe Root, who stepped in as captain at the Oval. Stokes said it hurt to see Root “undeservedly” criticised for his captaincy, as Geoffrey Boycott wrote in London’s Telegraph that the former captain had “learnt nothing”.
“Of course [I apologised],” Stokes said, speaking publicly for the first time since the incident. “That was one of the first things I had to do as a captain. You look at the situation, and it affects more than just myself. It affects a lot of people, it affected Joe, the squad, the people outside the playing environment.
“It no doubt had an effect on lads who were making their debut. That should have been all about them, but unfortunately a situation outside of their control took precedence over their big days, making their debut for England in Test cricket.
“It would be stupid and naive of me not to acknowledge and address that. It’s something you do have to do, as someone who has responsibility of being a leader in a group. It’s all fine and well everything being fine and dandy when it’s 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.
“Joe Root and I have known each other since we were kids. He got put into a situation which he never thought would be bestowed upon him again having walked away from the captaincy. It showed that not only is he one of the greats of the game in terms of on the field, but it shows a lot about his character and seeing him stand up and take that responsibility on last week.
“The important thing for me was making sure I was letting the lads know I am back properly as the captain of this team.”
Stokes opened up on his frustration at the ECB process, which took two weeks to include, during which coach Brendon McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key did not publicly back him as captain.
“I’m not going to sit here and lie. Was I a bit frustrated by the process? Yes. Has the process finished? Yes. Are me and Gus back, where we want to be? Yes.”
Stokes was keen to focus on the week ahead, and did not commit to the captaincy beyond the third Test or whether he could ever return to the ranks.
“This has been something that has happened and taken a lot of attention away from the series but I want to make sure my focus is where it needs to be,” said Stokes.
“Right now my focus is on the team, on the series, we’re 1-1 in a three-match series. This week is massive for this team regardless of what’s gone on. We’ve always had some very good series against New Zealand we’re back at Trent Bridge where we’ve done some special things.”
Stokes accepted that he and McCullum are under the “highest amount of pressure” since they were paired by Key just over four years ago. The captain said, however, that there was a “big misconception” that he and McCullum diverged in their views, and also said he understood what the coach said when he expressed “worry” about him in a press conference at the Oval last Monday.
“Friends care for each other,” he said. “If someone is worried about one of their friends, how they portray that in front of a lot of people is a hard thing to do. I know what he meant.”
Telegraph, London
