‘No decisions will be made until after that’ – Rob Key offers no guarantee on Ben Stokes’ future as England Test captain

England’s Director of Cricket, Rob Key, has offered no guarantees on Ben Stokes‘ future as England’s Test captain. This comes after the nightclub controversy involving the all-rounder and fast bowler Gus Atkinson, following the Three Lions’ victory over New Zealand in the first Test match at Lord’s. 

Both Stokes and Atkinson were involved in an altercation with a rugby player in the early hours of Monday morning after breaking the team curfew. The pair have been axed from the squad which will take the field for the second Test at the Oval, with Joe Root taking over the reins of the side on an interim basis. 

When asked about Stokes’ future as England’s Test captain, Key did not provide a definitive answer. The former player-turned-manager instead wants to give the situation some time and not rush into a decision while the investigation is ongoing. 

“There are a lot of things to happen before then. We’ve got to run the investigation, find out what happened exactly. We’re in the midst of that at the moment. No decisions will be made until after that,” Rob Key said on BBC Sport. 

“We just have to let this play out. No decisions have been made on our side. We’ve not given him an ultimatum, we’re just speaking to him all the time to make sure that he is alright. It’s obviously been a traumatic time for him over the last few days. When things are like that you don’t want to make any decisions. Time is our ally in this,” he added. 

In the heat of the controversy, reports claimed that Stokes was not only considering his future as England captain, but also his time as an international cricketer. However, with three days now passing since the incident, there has been no news coming out of the Durham all-rounder’s camp.

Stokes took over the Test captaincy from Root ahead of the 2022 summer to kickstart a new era under the leadership of Brendon McCullum. The pair have enjoyed some success together but have recently raised a few question marks following a 4-1 Ashes defeat at the hands of Australia in the winter.