"Desperate for a result": Stokes apologises to teammates for missing 2nd Test due to breach of team protocol, eyes series win

Nottingham [UK], June 24 (ANI): England Test skipper Ben Stokes said that he has apologised to his English teammates for missing the second Test against New Zealand due to breaching team protocols, while also expressing that he is “desperate for a result” during the series decider starting from Thursday.

After missing The Oval Test along with pacer Gus Atkinson due to an alleged breach of team curfew and an incident in a Chelsea nightclub after securing a win in the first Lord’s Test, skipper Stokes is back in the playing XI as a captain. The investigations from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Cricket Regulator did not produce anything other than a formal written warning from ECB.

England lost the second Test by 253 runs, with Joe Root stepping in as captain. The absence of Stokes and Atkinson came after Ollie Robinson and Jamie Smith also missed the second Test due to an injury and paternity leave, respectively. Hence, a total of three players got their maiden Test caps, namely James Rew, Sonny Baker and Jordan Cox, all of whom have been dropped for the series decider.

Speaking in the pre-match presser on Wednesday, Stokes said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, “Of course I apologised. 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.”

Stokes said that it would have been “stupid and naive” of him not to acknowledge and address the situation, noting the responsibility he has as a leader of the group.

“It is all fine and well, everything being fine and dandy when it is 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. That is something that I did,” he added.

The show of remorse from Stokes is expected to cool the debate around the future of Stokes, Brendon McCullum and Rob Key, who escaped unscathed from an ECB review after a 1-4 loss in the away Ashes series this year. This incident made England feel the pressure during their first international series of the summer.

“Yesterday (Tuesday), the important thing for me as captain of the team was making sure that I was letting the lads know that I am back properly as the captain of this team. I did need to obviously say a few things and acknowledge a few things to the team, and the team only, and I feel like I voiced those quite well to everyone,” he said.

He also said he has let his mates know “where his concentration is”.

“Everyone in the dressing-room is fully aware of the responsibilities as players who got the call-up this week, and I am fully aware of the responsibilities of me as captain to lead this team in a pretty important game,” he added.

Stokes admitted that while the last match’s result cannot be changed, they can change what happens in the series decider.

“We are desperate to get the results. I am desperate to be the result. I think I have made a pretty good effort at making sure that the most important people know that, which is the team,” he signed off.

England XI for third Test: 1 Ben Duckett, 2 Emilio Gay, 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wk), 7 Ben Stokes (capt), 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Josh Tongue, 11 Shoaib Bashir. (ANI)

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