CRICKET – England's returning captain Ben Stokes said his focus is solely on winning the series-deciding Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge after a tumultuous fortnight in which he was left out after he and bowler Gus Atkinson broke a team curfew.
Stokes was cleared to resume in his role on Sunday following investigations by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Cricket Regulator into an incident in a nightclub on June 8 after England beat New Zealand at Lord’s to go 1-0 ahead.
In his absence England suffered a heavy defeat at The Oval with batsman and former skipper Joe Root as stand-in captain.
Stokes said he was concentrating on securing a series win, and played down any cooling of his relationship with head coach Brendon McCullum.
“There’s been a lot going on, there’s no hiding away from that,” Stokes, who took over from Root as captain in 2022, said.
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