Ben Stokes breaks silence about nightclub incident amid ENG vs NZ Test series

The England cricket team sustained multiple hard hits with Ben Stokes as the captain and Brendon McCullum as the head coach. The ongoing three-match Test series against New Zealand is considered their stage for redemption and to prove themselves again against strong opponents.

England kicked off the Test series against New Zealand on a positive note, winning the first at Lord’s. Players must be very happy because of the commanding victory. After the conclusion of the match, Ben Stokes and his teammate Gus Atkinson went outside to spend some quality time.

That quality time soon turned into another controversial moment for the England skipper. Stokes and Atkinson found themselves outside of the team, ahead of the 2^nd Test, due to a controversial incident outside a nightclub in London.

Ben Stokes shed light on the latest nightclub incident

It was not the first time that the seam bowling all-rounder involved himself in such a situation. But he is now 35, a seasoned cricketer, the captain of England’s Test team, and should have avoided the situation, as many cricket experts believe.

Ahead of the third Test at Trent Bridge, Stokes was involved in a discussion about his current situation with the former Michael Atherton for a Sky Sports Cricket segment.

“It’s always a very tough situation to, I think, really understand from someone’s… When you’re involved in it, it’s a lot harder to, I guess, realise what the best thing to do is. And I guess it’s always one of those things where when you don’t have to make a decision, you feel like you could make the best decision. It’s always hard being involved in something like that,” Stokes said.

“And, you know, like, could I say I was a little bit frustrated and disappointed with how the whole thing’s played out? Yeah. But, you know, I’m back here as captain of England. I’m back here playing this week,” he added.

Ben Stokes is back in the line-up again, as the captain

Due to the investigation, Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson, both of whom missed the second match of the series, were accused of breaching the England cricket team’s night curfew rule. Both of them returned for the third match, which will decide the fate of the series, with Ben Stokes retaining his captaincy.

“I’m back here doing what I want to be doing. I also sit here and say I’ve done this job for four years, and I’m, you know, it’s been no stress. It’s been nothing that’s come of it. You know that I’ll be lying. It’s a job that requires resilience. It’s a job that requires time. It’s a job that requires so much effort. And you sort of, I guess, you’re never really able to switch off from it. You’re always on,” the skipper mentioned.

The skipper mentioned the previous Ashes as well

Stokes reckoned that the period after the Ashes 2025-26 in Australia was not easy for him, and then the last few weeks of his life. Ben Stokes wants a resurrection in his career through examining the hard times that he has sustained in the recent past.

“And, you know, over the last six months, I guess I could look back on how I’ve sort of thrown myself a bit too much into it? Have I given myself enough slack after Australia? And maybe I was a little bit too hard on myself? But over the last couple of weeks, I’ll give you, like, be truthful. There’s just been almost a, well, you know, it could have all been taken away from you again. So just relax a bit, you know, go out there and enjoy it,” he said.

Ben Stokes speaks to Michael Atherton following the nightclub incident which took place after England’s first Test against New Zealand 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/G40RkTjy6H

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 25, 2026