Ben Stokes will return as England captain for third New Zealand Test – McCullum

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Ben Stokes will return as England captain for next week’s third Test against New Zealand, head coach Brendon McCullum has announced.

Stokes was stood down from the second Rothesay Test against New Zealand pending the results of an disciplinary investigation into a breach of team protocols in the early hours of June 8.

He instead turned out for Durham, scoring a rapid 95 on day two of their Rothesay County Championship clash against Northamptonshire on Saturday.

Gus Atkinson is also set to return for England next week (Ben Whitley/PA) (PA Wire)

But on Sunday morning both Stokes and Gus Atkinson, also left out following his part in the breach of curfew, were removed from their respective county matches by England pending a recall.

And after England suffered a comprehensive 253-run loss to New Zealand at The Oval, McCullum confirmed Stokes would return for the third Test in Nottingham.

“Ben will be back. He’ll be back and he’ll be captain,” McCullum said.

Brendon McCullum said he has been talking to Ben Stokes (right) on a daily basis (Robbie Stephenson/PA) (PA Archive)

“I think everyone is excited about that, especially after seeing him hit some form for Durham.

“I’ve been speaking to Ben every single day since we had the incident and my assessment was that I was worried about him. To see him go out there and play some cricket and look like he was enjoying himself is really positive.

“I’m not going to divulge our conversations because they are confidential but it’s great to see him back playing and I look forward to seeing him in a couple of days.”

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