Image source, Getty ImagesCaptain Ben Stokes admits England are under the “highest amount of pressure” since he and coach Brendon McCullum took charge four years ago.
England face a series decider against New Zealand at Trent Bridge from Thursday in the aftermath of the controversy that led to Stokes being absent from the defeat in the second Test.
The all-rounder, 35, and pace bowler Gus Atkinson were made unavailable for the match at The Oval pending an investigation into an incident at a London nightclub. But the pair have since been cleared to return to the England team, with Stokes once again captain.
Stokes, McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key were all backed to stay in their jobs following the dismal 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia.
And defeat by the Kiwis this week would be England’s seventh in nine Tests and leave them with a first home loss in a series of at least three matches since 2012.
“Has the pressure on this team ramped up? Well, this is definitely the highest amount of pressure we’ve been under since me and Baz became coach and captain,” Stokes told BBC Sport.
“That’s fine. How you deal with it is what proves if you’re a good leader or not. What me and Baz have done has been able to accept that this is pretty high pressure, but we know what we need to do is go out there and win games of cricket.”
Stokes was speaking publicly for the first time since he and Atkinson broke England’s curfew and were present when a member of the team’s security staff was struck by a Saracens rugby player.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) found the pair breached “contractual obligations”, yet were blameless for “violent conduct”. Stokes and Atkinson were given a written warning, but no further action was taken after they missed the second Test, and the Cricket Regulator cleared them of wrongdoing.
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Stokes admitted he did not know if he would be stripped of the captaincy and if he could have played under another captain.
Regarding suggestions of a rift between the skipper and coach, Stokes said he and McCullum are “mates”.
However, he was not drawn on his thoughts about the ECB and confirmed the process had left him “frustrated”.
Details of the incident were first released by the ECB on the evening of 8 June.
In the aftermath, there was speculation Stokes could lose the captaincy, resign, or even retire.
Asked if he thought the situation would result in him no longer being England captain, Stokes replied: “To be honest, when the process was playing out, no-one really knew what was going on.”
In an earlier media conference, the Durham man said he was “back properly” as captain, a role he took in 2022. However, he declined the opportunity to confirm he would be in the job for the long-term, referring to “this week” and the third Test decider against New Zealand.
Later, speaking to the BBC, Stokes – who has a central contract until the end of next summer – was asked if he wanted to be captain for as long as he is an England player.
He added: “The England captaincy is one of those things where I’m 35 now and, even before this stuff all happened, I thought, ‘Could I ever see myself playing for England and not being captain?’
“It’s a question I’ve never really been able to answer, because it’s been such a big part of this part of my career.
“You look at others who have stepped away from captaincy and kept playing – I don’t really know. I love playing for England. I love being captain of this team and that’s where I’m at with everything.”
Stokes and McCullum have faced questions about the state of their working relationship since the Ashes, questions that intensified in the aftermath of the player’s nightclub incident.
Speaking two days before the second Test at The Oval, when Stokes was unavailable, McCullum repeatedly mentioned his “worry” and “concern” for the captain.
On Tuesday in Nottingham, McCullum revealed he and Stokes had spoken for more than an hour and that neither knew where reports of a rift had come from.
And on Wednesday, Stokes said: “Me and Baz are mates. When you’re worried about a friend and you’re not quite sure what’s going on, you’re going to want to look out for them, you’re going to be worried about them, are you not?
“Last week, in terms of the words that Baz used in the press conference, don’t look into them too much. He cares about me, I care about him and Baz cares deeply about everyone who walks into this team.”
However, when asked about the support he received from the ECB, he added: “It was a process that needed to be played out. The process has been played out. Me and Gus are back.”
On the process itself, which took two weeks to conclude, Stokes said: “I’m not going to sit here and lie. Was I a bit frustrated by the process? Yes. Has the process finished? Yes. Are me and Gus back, where we want to be? Yes.”
He also described the “love” he has felt from England supporters during his time away from the team.
“Over the last two weeks, it’s made me understand yet again how much support not only this team gets from the fans, but I also felt a lot of love of and a lot of support,” said Stokes.
“There are a lot of people who love this English cricket team and love me. It sounds weird saying that, but you know what I’m trying to say.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the support I’ve been shown over the past two weeks and it’s something that has not been missed in this whole two weeks of chaos. It’s been nice.”
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