Dropped England captain Ben Stokes trains with Durham after nightclub controversy

England Test captain Ben Stokes was seen training with his county Durham after not getting picked in the squad for their second Test match against New Zealand, which begins on Wednesday, June 17. This comes after the all-rounder, along with Gus Atkinson, was involved in a nightclub brawl following the Three Lions’ victory in the first Test at Lord’s.

The pair broke a midnight curfew and were involved in a brawl with a rugby player in the early hours of Monday morning, and are currently under investigation from the England and Wales Cricket Board, which will see them miss the second Test. 

Due to the suspension, the 35-year-old was present at Chester-le-Street on Saturday for Durham’s County Championship Division Two game against Derbyshire. According to BBC Sport, Stokes bowled before the start of the day’s play and was also seen batting with batting coach Dale Benkenstein, along with his fellow England teammate Emilio Gay. 

Despite the ongoing investigation, there are no restrictions on Stokes and Atkinson playing domestic cricket, making them eligible for selection for Durham and Surrey, respectively, for the next round of County Championship games, which commence on Friday, June 19. 

In the aftermath of the incident, there were reports surrounding Stokes’ international future. However, those suggestions seemed to have cooled, with his involvement in training with Durham on Saturday, June 13. However, there is still no guarantee whether the talismanic all-rounder will return as captain of England’s Test side, with the ECB keeping all options open. In his absence, Joe Root has been given the captaincy on an interim basis for the second Test at the Oval.

According to the aforementioned source, the outcome of the investigation is not expected to come out before the start of the second Test. However, with there being just a three-day gap between the second and third Test, one can expect the findings to become public from June 21 onwards.