Mark Butcher questions Ben Stokes’ future as England captain amid curfew controversy

Former England cricketer Mark Butcher suggested that head coach Brendon McCullum may not want Ben Stokes to continue as England captain. McCullum admitted that he experienced a range of emotions after learning that both Stokes and Gus Atkinson had breached the team’s midnight curfew while celebrating England’s victory in the first Test.

The incident reportedly involved an altercation with a Saracens rugby player, resulting in an ECB support staff member requiring medical attention. McCullum said that his initial reaction quickly turned to worry and concern for Stokes, who was reportedly considering retiring from international cricket just a week earlier.

“If Brendon had any idea as to Ben Stokes’ mental state in terms of returning to the team, let alone captaining the team, he probably would have said ‘yeah, of course it’s not his last Test, he’ll be back and he’ll be our captain when he’s ready to do so’,” said Butcher as quoted by Wisden.

“But, reading between the lines, it’s saying that Ben is having real difficulty in seeing a way through this himself. So the decision wouldn’t be that the ECB would sack him or that Brendon doesn’t want him as captain anymore, but that Ben is undecided, or unsure, or just has no idea about what the next day looks like, as opposed to what the future of his captaincy looks like,” he added.

Joe Root has been appointed England’s interim captain for tomorrow’s Test at The Oval, with the experienced batter chosen to lead the side ahead of official vice-captain Harry Brook.

England have made significant changes to their playing XI after standing down both Stokes and Atkinson. Sonny Baker and Jordan Cox are set to make their Test debuts, while James Rew could also earn his first international cap if wicketkeeper Jamie Smith leaves the squad during the match for the birth of his child. England will be without Ollie Robinson, while Jofra Archer returns to the side after successfully rebuilding his workload following his Indian Premier League campaign.

“England have gone with a safer looking team. They bat down to Cox at seven, who’s just made a blistering double hundred in his only Championship appearance so far. Bethell and Root will share a bit of spin duty should it be required. My instinct is always, if you think the pitch is pretty flat, then you’re going to need somebody who bowls spin properly, but I can absolutely understand why they haven’t gone that route in this Test match, given everything else that’s going on,” said Butcher.