Ben Stokes was back on a cricket field Saturday. The England captain trained with Durham at Chester-le-Street, bowling in the middle before play and batting in the nets with Durham batting coach Dale Benkenstein. His county and international team-mate Emilio Gay was also on site.
The return came days after Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson were made unavailable for England's second Test against New Zealand, which begins at The Oval on Wednesday. According to BBC Sport and Yahoo Sports, the two players broke the England team's midnight curfew following the first Test win over New Zealand last Sunday. In the early hours of Monday morning, they were present at a nightclub when a member of security staff was struck by a Saracens rugby player.
The England and Wales Cricket Board released a statement the following Monday confirming both players had breached team protocols and that a formal investigation would follow. Despite being barred from the second Test, Stokes and Atkinson are allowed to play domestic cricket while the investigation proceeds. Durham host Northants in the next round of County Championship matches beginning Friday, and Atkinson's Surrey travel to Glamorgan around the same time.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, some outlets reported that Stokes was considering retirement. Those suggestions have since cooled. His appearance at Durham's County Championship match against Derbyshire on Saturday was widely read as a sign that his playing career will continue.
England director of cricket Rob Key addressed the situation Thursday. When asked whether he expected Stokes to play international cricket again, Key said: "I don't see why not." But Key was less certain about the captaincy, a role Stokes has held since 2022.
"There are a lot of things to happen before then," said Key. "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."
The ECB has denied asking Stokes to stand down as captain. Reports suggesting senior figures at the governing body are united in wanting to strip Stokes of the captaincy are also said to be incorrect. All options are described as open, pending the investigation's outcome.
That outcome is not expected before the second Test begins Wednesday. If the investigation is still running by the time the second Test concludes, the ECB will need to provide an update before confirming the squad for the third Test at Trent Bridge, which starts three days after the second Test is scheduled to end.
England head coach Brendon McCullum is set to speak to the media at The Oval on Monday.
