Ben Stokes DROPPED as Joe Root is named interim England Test captain in his absence – after all-rounder and Gus Atkinson were suspended following nightclub incident with 125kg Saracens rugby star
Ben Stokes has been omitted from England’s second Test squad against New Zealand with Joe Root taking over as interim captain.
Stokes, 35, and Surrey seamer Gus Atkinson will not feature, the England and Wales Cricket Board said, while the investigation into their breaking of team protocols in the early hours of Monday morning is ongoing.
Harry Brook is the Test team’s vice-captain, and leads England in white-ball cricket, but the ECB have announced Stokes’ predecessor Joe Root as stand-in for the match at The Oval from next Wednesday.
Sussex fast bowler Jofra Archer and uncapped Essex batsman Jordan Cox have effectively replaced the two overlooked players in the 15-man squad.
England won the first Test at Lord’s by 115 runs, but that was overshadowed when it was revealed that Stokes and Atkinson had failed to adhere to a midnight curfew.
The pair were then caught up in an incident at a Chelsea nightclub in which a Saracens academy player Totoa Auvaa is alleged to have struck a member of the England team’s security staff.
Joe Root has been named as interim England Test captain in the absence of Ben Stokes
Stokes’ international future is in doubt after he was caught up in a nightclub melee on Monday
It was anticipated that Brook, 27, would lead the team once doubts were cast on Stokes’ availability.
However, Daily Mail Sport understands there were some doubts within Brook’s management team about throwing him into the role, particularly in these circumstances, following his own late-night incident in Wellington last autumn.
In Brook’s Yorkshire team-mate Root, the ECB have chosen an older head and steady pair of hands.
Root, 35, led England in a record 64 Test matches between 2017-2022, but relinquished the post after one win in 17, and gave his blessing to close friend Stokes to succeed him.
In a statement released on Wednesday afternoon, the ECB said: ‘The England & Wales Cricket Board can confirm that, given the ongoing investigation, Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have not been made available for selection for the Rothesay second Test against New Zealand, which starts at the Kia Oval on Wednesday 17 June.
‘Yorkshire batter Joe Root will lead the team as Interim Captain.
‘Sussex fast bowler Jofra Archer and Essex batter Jordan Cox have been added to the squad.’
Daily Mail Sport reported on Tuesday that Stokes is understood to be considering his future as an England cricketer after he and Atkinson broke the team’s midnight curfew.
With the ECB’s investigation ongoing into the events at the Rex Rooms nightclub in Chelsea, Stokes has been at home in the North East weighing up his options.
Earlier on Sunday evening, Stokes was downing £25 double rum and cokes with England rugby captain Maro Itoje before he was later caught up in the late night melee with another rugby player.
It was understood to have been sparked by a disagreement over tables in a VIP area of the club.
One source close to the dressing room described questions surrounding his future as ‘up in the air’, after the ECB offered him time to think about his options. Another told Daily Mail Sport: ‘I don’t know if even he knows yet what he wants to do.’
The mood at Lord’s remains unwavering after the latest drink-related incident to dominate English cricket’s headlines – not least because Stokes himself was one of the architects, along with head coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key, of the curfew imposed after the disastrous tour of Australia. There is angry talk at HQ of the captain bringing the game into disrepute.
