England head coach Brendon McCullum spoke to the press for the first time after the incident involving Test captain Ben Stokes and pacer Gus Atkinson. The two players broke the team curfew last week and were involved in a nightclub brawl with an academy rugby player. It has now already come to light that the two cricketers weren’t the aggressors, and it was the rugby player who tried to land a punch on Atkinson. However, both Stokes and Atkinson have been left out of the England squad for the second Test against New Zealand, which begins on Wednesday, June 17, at the Oval.
England will be led by Joe Root in the second Test of the three-match series, and serious concerns remain over Stokes’ future. Last week, the British media reported that Stokes was contemplating retiring from international cricket. Some even suggest that he might leave the Test captaincy as well.
When asked about the entire issue, the former New Zealand captain said that it was gutting to hear about players breaking curfew; however, he added that he remains very worried about the English skipper Stokes.
“To hear about this was incredibly gutting. When you’re in roles like this, you have to start trying to separate the action from the man. Very quickly, though, talking to Ben in particular, and 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, whilst not overlooking the fact they have not lived up to the standards we have set for ourselves,” McCullum told reporters ahead of the second Test against New Zealand.
“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 stage, in particular Ben. That is very much where my mind is at, my worry for him,” he added.
‘Best intentions’
McCullum added that the biggest concern right now is to have Stokes in the best shape possible, saying he had a lot of respect for the all-rounder, who has given so much to English and world cricket.
“Our concern is with Ben. Our concern is handling that situation, making sure we look after him, that he feels supported by us and in communication with us. We need to make sure we look after him, rally around him, and in time we will get on to those sorts of decisions,” McCullum said.
“Whatever he is working through at the moment, it will be because Ben thinks that is right for dealing with what he is feeling at the moment. We have always had English cricket’s best intentions at the core of what we are trying to achieve and the decisions we are trying to make. Right now, I have a lot of respect, a lot of care for Ben, and I am doing what I can to support him,” he added.
However, McCullum was non-committal when he was pressed on whether Stokes could return as the captain going ahead.
“We need to go through a process. I look at the time, the last four years I’ve worked intimately with Ben. I’ve seen Ben be an unbelievable captain. I’ve seen him at his absolute best as a captain, his best as a player,” said Stokes.
“He’s helped shape this environment over the last four years. He’s had some incredible success doing it, and I feel very lucky that during that time, we have worked so closely together. What will be will be down the line. Those decisions are not for now,” he added.
