England captain Ben Stokes has finally spoken openly about the nightclub controversy that forced him to sit out the second Test against New Zealand. Stokes made it clear that the moment he walked back into the side, his first duty was not strategy or winning matches but apologising to his teammates. He accepted it as his own mistake and said the fallout was not his alone to carry, the whole team paid the price for it.
Stokes and Gus Atkinson had been left out of the second Test for breaching the team curfew after the Lord's Test. With Stokes unavailable, Joe Root took charge, but England slumped to a heavy 253-run defeat in the contest at The Oval. That win allowed New Zealand to draw level in the series at 1-1.
One slip, a price paid by the whole side
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the decisive Test at Trent Bridge, Stokes admitted the impact of his mistake stretched well beyond himself. He said, absolutely, as captain it was one of the first things I had to do. If you look at the whole situation, it did not just affect me. It affected Joe Root, the team and people outside the playing environment too.
He also pointed to the young players who were making their debut in that very match. He said, of course it affected the players who were making their debut. That occasion should have been completely special for them. If I did not acknowledge that and talk about it, that would be foolish and naive of me.
For Stokes, captaincy is not just about leading from the front in victory but about shouldering responsibility when things go wrong. He said he sat down and apologised face to face with everyone the episode had affected. When everything is going well it all feels good, he said, but you have to take responsibility for things. You have to be big and brave enough to put that responsibility on your shoulders and look the people it affected in the eye and apologise the way it should be done. And that is exactly what he did.
Now the focus is squarely on Trent Bridge
The England captain added that after returning to the dressing room he spoke openly with the players and signalled that his attention is now fixed entirely on the series decider. Stokes said the most important thing for him as captain was to let the players know he was fully back as the leader of this team. He had a few things to say to the side and some matters to clear up, and that conversation was strictly for the team. Stokes feels he put his point across to everyone very well.
