England captain Ben Stokes could return to Test duty as soon as next week’s series finale against New Zealand, several British media outlets reported Thursday.
Stokes and England teammate Gus Atkinson were both stood down from the ongoing second Test at the Oval after breaking a team curfew following the hosts’ win in the series opener at Lord’s.
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That decision led to a flurry of speculation over his international future amid concerns the 35-year-old all-rounder might be stripped of the England captaincy, stand down by himself or even walk away from representing his country permanently.
But both the BBC and Britain’s Press Association news agency reported Thursday that Stokes could rejoin the England squad for the third and final Test against New Zealand at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge as inquiries by both the England and Wales Cricket Board and the independent Cricket Regulator head towards a conclusion.
Stokes has been England captain for the past four years.
His close friend and predecessor Joe Root has stepped back into the role at the Oval but made it clear he was doing so merely on a “game-by-game basis”.
Stokes is set to return to senior cricket action on Friday as a member of the Durham side playing Northamptonshire in a Second Division County Championship at Chester-le-Street.
His lone public comment since the ECB acknowledged the curfew breach has been to wish England and their three debutants at the Oval well in a brief Instagram message.
England coach Brendon McCullum appeared to raise concerns over Stokes’s mental wellbeing in a pre-Test press conference, where he repeatedly voiced “worry” and “concern” for his absent captain.
But Durham coach Ryan Campbell, having recently worked alongside Stokes in the nets, had a different view, telling the BBC: “Ben knows he made a mistake and broke the curfew, but some of the reaction has been a little over (the top).
“From what I’ve seen, he’s in good spirits, he’s back in training, working hard and the rest will take care of itself.
“Ben is a competitor and he loves to play and he wants to play.”
England great Ian Botham earlier suggested Stokes might decide to quit cricket completely should he be removed from the role of Test captain.
“It wouldn’t surprise me, if Ben did lose the captaincy, he probably might walk away from the game, but I just don’t know,” Botham told the Overlap podcast’s Stick to Cricket show.
England faced allegations of a drinking culture during a woeful 4-1 series loss in Australia during the 2025/26 Ashes.
Before the Ashes, white-ball captain Harry Brook was punched by a nightclub bouncer in Wellington ahead of a one-day international against New Zealand.
As a result, England imposed a midnight curfew on all players and staff, with the 70-year-old Botham, one of the outstanding all-rounders of his generation, saying there was no defence for this latest incident.
“Some people just don’t learn, do they?”, he added. “I really can’t see how you can justify what happened after the game.”
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Meanwhile, Matt Henry captured the prize wickets of England stand-in captain Joe Root and Harry Brook at the Oval on Thursday as New Zealand cashed in on Glenn Phillips’s maiden Test century.
England slumped to 222-6 at stumps on the second day of the second Test in reply to New Zealand’s first-innings 391, a deficit of 169 runs.
Henry was troubled by back spasms during England’s 115-run win in the first Test of this three-match series at Lord’s a fortnight ago.
But the fast bowler had both Root (46) and Brook (24) lbw just when it seemed the pair were about to cut loose, with Henry having taken 2-57 in 16 overs at the close in south London.
“Nice to be able to contribute,” Henry, 34, told Sky Sports. “It was pretty tough, England put us under pressure early (in their innings).
“But the ability to rein back some momentum was huge for us, and then obviously we reaped the rewards at the end there.”
Root was leading England for a record-extending 65th Test after Ben Stokes, his successor as captain, was dropped from the side for breaking curfew following victory at Lord’s.
White-ball skipper Brook has long been England’s designated Test vice-captain. But he was not put in charge at the Oval after his late-night drinking exploits in Wellington in November, ahead of a woeful 4-1 Ashes series loss, prompted team chiefs to impose the curfew in the first place.
After Phillips was out for exactly 100 to end New Zealand’s innings, England’s Ben Duckett made a fluent 36 off just 25 balls, only to be run out by Nathan Smith’s direct hit from mid-off after opening partner Emilio Gay set off for a needless single.
Smith then had Jacob Bethell caught for nine by wicketkeeper Tom Blundell. Gay put the run-out mix-up behind him to compile a second fifty in as many Tests following a debut half-century at Lord’s.
But Gay faced just two more balls, edging to Blundell while trying to evade a rising delivery from Will O’Rourke.
Gay, who plays his county cricket alongside Stokes at Durham, insisted England still had plenty of leadership to call on despite the all-rounder’s absence.
“I know there’s a few debuts and myself, I’ve not really played any (Test) cricket, but there’s still leaders in the dressing room,” said Gay. “There’s Jofra (Archer), Ben Duckett, Rooty, Brooky (Brook); all those guys have played loads of cricket across all formats for England.” Brook stepped outside leg stump to carve O’Rourke over point for an outrageous six, with Root stroking boundaries in more orthodox fashion.
But Henry, with Blundell standing up to the stumps to keep the batsmen in their crease, had the home captain plumb lbw.
And 170-4 soon became 177-5 when Henry got another ball to nip back off the seam to remove Brook.
Wicketkeeper James Rew, one of three England debutants, gloved O’Rourke to slip.
Earlier, Phillips received fine support from Kyle Jamieson (41) in an eighth-wicket partnership of 87 as the pair capitalised on wayward England bowling and sloppy fielding.
“It was obviously a special one (innings),” Phillips told the BBC. “It’s the anniversary of my dad passing so that is one for him.” The 29-year-old is just the third New Zealand batsman to score centuries in all three international formats after Brendon McCullum, now the England coach, and Martin Guptill.
“That’s really cool,” said Phillips, who scored his Oval hundred batting down the order at No 7.
“I stick to my process, do my things and hopefully the results come,” added Phillips, dubbed the “energiser bunny” by New Zealand teammate Daryl Mitchell.
Jamieson should have been out for 15 when his swipe off debutant fast bowler Sonny Baker sailed gently to deep mid-wicket, only for Duckett to drop a simple chance.
England, however, overdid the short-ball ploy, Root failing to call a halt to their naive tactics as New Zealand blasted 74 runs in 12 overs.
Phillips’s single off Archer saw the all-rounder to a century, his first in his 19-Test career, before he holed out off Matthew Fisher.
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