Stokes returns to Durham training amid ECB investigation after nightclub incident

Ben Stokes was back in Durham colours on Saturday even as England’s leadership picture shifted around him, with the captain ruled out of the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval under an ECB investigation into a nightclub incident. The 35-year-old trained at Chester-le-Street on the second day of Durham’s County Championship match against Derbyshire, bowling in the middle before play and then batting in the nets alongside Durham batting coach Dale Benkenstein. Emilio Gay was also training.

Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson were both made unavailable for the Test that begins on Wednesday, June 17, after breaking England’s midnight curfew following the first-Test win at Lord’s. The episode moved quickly from late-night disorder to formal discipline: the ECB said it was investigating a breach of team protocols and had referred the case to the Cricket Regulator. A member of England’s security staff was struck during the incident by a Saracens rugby player and required stitches.

For England, the consequences extend beyond one match. Stokes and Atkinson are still permitted to play domestic cricket while the investigation continues, so both could be available for the next round of County Championship fixtures starting on Friday, when Durham host Northants and Surrey travel to Glamorgan. If the matter remains unresolved before the third Test at Trent Bridge, England may have to revise the squad again, underlining how a single disciplinary episode can reshape a series and disturb selection planning.

Joe Root will captain England at The Oval, returning to the role for the first time since 2022 after leading the side in 64 Tests between 2017 and 2022. England director of cricket Rob Key said on Thursday that he did not see why Stokes would not play international cricket again, but stopped short of guaranteeing that Stokes would resume as captain. The uncertainty leaves the team balancing Stokes’s value with the standards expected of its leadership.

The scrutiny has been building since last winter’s Ashes tour, when reports of off-field behaviour and drinking prompted England to impose a strict midnight curfew. Harry Brook had already been fined $60,000 and given a final warning after a nightclub incident in Wellington last year, and Stokes himself was involved in the Bristol nightclub incident in 2017 that led to an affray charge and cost him the 2017/18 Ashes tour before he was cleared the following summer. After England lost the 2024/25 Ashes series 4-1 in Australia, the question is not only whether Stokes can play, but whether England can keep separating discipline, image and on-field necessity.