Brendon McCullum has spoken of his concern for Ben Stokes’s wellbeing as the England captain sits out this week’s second Test against New Zealand after breaking the team curfew following the first Test at Lord’s.
Fallout from Curfew Breach
Stokes and teammate Gus Atkinson spent the early hours of last Monday morning at a Chelsea nightclub instead of the team hotel. McCullum, the England head coach, admitted he initially had a strong negative reaction but said this quickly changed. He has spoken to Stokes every day since the story broke, and those conversations left him feeling worried.
“When I first found out about it I was slightly bewildered, if I’m being honest,” McCullum said. “Then you go through a range of emotions. You go from being bewildered, on to angry, on to kind of gutted – from the progress which we talked about over the last six months and what we’re trying to do with the side, and some of the improvements we’ve tried to make, which includes the standards we want to set for ourselves, to hear about this was incredibly gutting.”
“Very quickly, through talking to Ben and also Gus, my overall emotion turned to worry and concern, for Ben in particular. Since then it has been about how we support these guys, while not overlooking the fact they have not lived up to the standards we have set for ourselves. You can’t walk past that, and we’ll deal with that in time and through a process. For me it’s very much about how we support these guys through the next stages. That’s very much where my mind is at.”
Relationship Not Strained
Though it has been reported that Stokes’s actions led to a cooling of his relationship with McCullum, the New Zealander said it was “not strained at all”. “We’ve spoken every day since this incident has unfolded,” he said. “There’s been a range of emotions Ben has gone through. I’m not going to share those with you. That’s out of respect for our relationship, and the confidentiality of it as well … Right now I have a lot of respect, a lot of care for Ben, and I’m doing what I can to support him.”
Stokes’s Return and Captaincy Future
Stokes has returned to training with Durham and could play for them against Northamptonshire starting Friday. There is a remote possibility he could return for England in next week’s third Test at Trent Bridge. McCullum said Stokes had been “an unbelievable captain” and that a decision on his future would not be hurried. “Those decisions are not for now,” he said. “The concern is making sure Ben is fine. We need to make sure we look after him, rally around him, and in time we’ll get on to those sorts of decisions.”
“I’m worried about Ben. That’s it. I’m in constant communication with him. I care for him immensely. Whatever he is working through at the moment, it will be because Ben thinks that’s right for dealing with what he’s feeling at the moment. So my concern is Ben. He’s very entitled to make his own decisions around that stuff and I encourage him to keep doing stuff like that, because if it gives him some joy and some satisfaction, then that’s good.”
Curfew Worthwhile
McCullum continues to believe the curfew initiated after England’s on-pitch failures and off-field issues during last winter’s Ashes is worthwhile. “I never want to kill the joy. I think it is vitally important that you celebrate your successes,” he said. “I’ve been involved in this sport and been living this life for the best part of 20 years and some of my most enjoyable moments have been sitting around after going to war with your teammates and looking them in the eye and realising that you have left it all out there.”
“But [you need to] understand we have some obligations and responsibilities to uphold. When breaches happen, I think it’s important you don’t look past that. Because to me, that can ruin a culture, that can ruin a side, if you’re not prepared to be strong enough in those circumstances.”
