Ben Stokes apologises to England squad after nightclub scandal but says full focus is on Test decider
The England captain admitted breaching the team curfew after winning at Lord's earlier this month but an investigation ruled he and Gus Atkinson had no blame in causing the violent conduct
Ben Stokes has said sorry to his England fellow players for breaching the team curfew after the first Test of the summer and said his full focus id on this week's decider against New Zealand.
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Speaking for the first time since an incident that saw him and fast bowler Gus Atkinson issued with a written conduct warning – while being cleared of any wrongdoing in a physical altercation – Stokes revealed he had apologised to the squad.
He declared himself "back properly" for the series decider at Trent Bridge, which starts on Thursday, but declined the opportunity to say he was back for good.
An altercation took place with Saracens rugby union player Totoa Auvaa, with an England and Wales Cricket Board probe concluding that Atkinson was subjected to two separate attacks and did not retaliate.
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A member of England’s security staff was reportedly injured but Stokes was not present while the physical scuffle took place.
Stokes told reporters: "I understand there's a lot of questions that you probably want to ask and want to hear from me, but I hope you respect in terms of this whole week, I'm focusing on this week.
"That's where my focus is at right now. I understand there are probably some questions but right now I'm here as captain of this team and all I want to do is get the team focused on winning here.
"We are 1-1 in a three-match series and this week is massive for the team."
In a subsequent interview with Test Match Special, Stokes admitted the saga had forced him to ponder whether he would be willing to return to the ranks after four years leading the side.
"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," he said.
"I love playing for England, I love being captain of this team and that’s where I’m at with everything."
Asked if he had apologised to the team before training on Wednesday, Stokes said: "Of course. That was one of the things I had to do as captain.
"It’s all fine, everything being fine and dandy, when it’s going well but you need to take responsibility for things as well.
"You need to be big enough and man enough to be able to take that upon your shoulders, look everyone in the eye who it’s affected and apologise how you need to apologise. That’s something I did."
Stokes was guarded when it came to the investigation itself, and did not weigh in on the disputed matter of the midnight curfew.
He did speak up for his relationship with head coach Brendon McCullum amid suggestions of a growing rift between the pair.
Stokes said: "It's been a big misconception around me and Brendon. We are genuinely very good mates.
"We certainly haven't drifted apart, as there’s a bit of speculation about. Not agreeing on everything shouldn’t be seen as a divide between me and Brendon.
"You are allowed to have discussions, you are allowed to have disagreements.
"I feel like you need to get those things out there with each other so you can make good decisions."