England Recall Stokes and Atkinson for Third Test After Nightclub Incident

Captain Ben Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson will face no further action after an incident in a London nightclub and have returned to the England squad for the third Test against New Zealand, which starts on Thursday at Trent Bridge. England lost the second Test and trail the series.

Brendon McCullum, appointed England head coach in May 2022, a month after Stokes was named Test captain, confirmed the returns after the second Test defeat.

"I anticipate we'll be able to work together really well in the week coming and I'm sure that both of us have that same vision for this cricket team," McCullum said. Two days before the second Test, McCullum had repeatedly spoken of his "worry" and "concern" for Stokes. Stokes will speak to the media on Wednesday.

England will train in Nottingham for the first time on Tuesday. Neither ECB chief executive Richard Gould nor chair Richard Thompson has spoken publicly on the episode. The official ECB message is that Stokes was not asked to resign.

A midnight curfew was enforced on the England team after off-field issues during the Ashes tour. The ECB initially stated that Stokes and Atkinson had breached the curfew. England director of cricket Rob Key later revealed that Atkinson did not know the curfew was in force.

McCullum said there was an "ambiguity" over the terms of the curfew and that it had not been put in writing. The curfew remains in place for the third Test. England had to make five changes for the second Test.

From the team that played at The Oval, England will definitely omit James Rew and Sonny Baker, who are not in the squad, and will probably omit Jordan Cox and Matthew Fisher. England will bring in Stokes, Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, who is returning after paternity leave.