2 hours ago Ben Stokes returned to grooming with Durham connected Saturday pursuing the nightclub incidental that has caused the skipper to miss England's 2nd Test against New Zealand.
Stokes and gait bowler Gus Atkinson person been made unavailable for the 2nd Test astatine The Oval, starting connected Wednesday, pending an investigation.
The brace broke the England team's midnight curfew aft the decision of the Black Caps successful the archetypal Test past Sunday. They were contiguous successful the aboriginal hours of Monday greeting erstwhile a subordinate of information unit was struck by a Saracens rugby player.
Stokes, 35, was astatine Chester-le-Street connected Saturday for the 2nd time of Durham's County Championship lucifer against Derbyshire.
The all-rounder bowled successful the mediate earlier play, past batted successful the nets with Durham batting manager Dale Benkenstein. Stokes' region and planetary team-mate Emilio Gay was besides training.
Despite the probe by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) preventing them from playing successful the 2nd Test, Stokes and Atkinson are permitted to play home cricket.
Therefore, the brace could diagnostic successful the adjacent circular of County Championship matches, opening connected Friday. Durham are astatine location to Northants, portion Atkinson's Surrey are distant astatine Glamorgan.
Last Monday, the ECB released a connection confirming Stokes and Atkinson had been progressive successful a breach of squad protocols by breaking the curfew, and that the governing assemblage volition investigate.
In the contiguous aftermath, immoderate reported that Stokes was considering retirement. Those suggestions person since cooled, and the 35-year-old's instrumentality to grooming appears to bespeak his playing vocation volition resume.
On Thursday, England manager of cricket Rob Key was asked if helium expected Stokes to play planetary cricket again and said: "I don't spot wherefore not."
But Key offered nary guarantees connected the imaginable of Stokes returning to the England captaincy, a presumption helium has held since 2022.
"There are a batch of things to hap earlier then," said Key. "We've got to tally the investigation, find retired what happened exactly. We're successful the midst of that astatine the moment. No decisions volition beryllium made until aft that."
It is understood each options are unfastened to the ECB with respect to Stokes and the captaincy, pending the effect of the investigation.
However, the ECB contradict helium has been asked to basal down arsenic skipper. Any conception that elder figures astatine the governing assemblage are agreed successful a tendency to instrumentality the captaincy from Stokes is besides thought to beryllium incorrect.
An result of the ECB probe is not expected earlier the opening of the 2nd Test. If it is not concluded, determination would request to beryllium an update earlier England corroborate their squad for the 3rd Test astatine Trent Bridge, which begins 3 days aft the scheduled last time of the second.
England caput manager Brendon McCullum is owed to talk to the media astatine The Oval connected Monday.
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