England captain Ben Stokes has denied reports of a rift between him and head coach Brendon McCullum.
Speaking to media ahead of England's third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, Stokes addressed reports of a breakdown in his relationship with McCullum. Stokes missed the second Test of the series, along with Gus Atkinson, while an investigation took place into a breach of team protocol following England's victory at Lord's in the first Test. Both were cleared to play at Trent Bridge after the Cricket Regulator concluded that no further action would be taken in relation to the incident.
During the fallout of Stokes' suspension from the second Test, McCullum failed to back his position as captain, repeating in a press conference at The Oval that he was "worried" Stokes. He said that he had spoken to Stokes every day, at that point, since the incident, and that their relationship was “not strained at all”. However, along with Rob Key, neither leadership figure gave Stokes their explicit backing to remain as captain.
Stokes: 'There's been a big misconception around this with me and Brendon'
The coach and captain reportedly cleared the air at Trent Bridge on Tuesday, with Stokes saying in a press conference: “There's been, I think, a big misconception around this with me and Brendon. Me and Brendon obviously have a professional relationship in terms of Brendon being head coach, me being captain. But then we've also got a relationship away from that. You know, we generally are very good mates. We've built a rapport and a relationship away from that, and we've been through, you know, some testing times, [and] have been through some great times.
“Do we agree on everything? Absolutely not. Do we have discussions around things? Absolutely. And those discussions are the things that end up both of us getting to a place so we can make a good decision. And 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. But I feel like you need to get those things out there to each other to end up being in a place where you can make a good decision.”
Specifically addressing McCullum's statements that he was "worried" about him, Stokes said: “Well, friends care for each other, don't they? Just like I think anyone else would. If someone was worried about one of their friends, then how they portray that in front of, you know, quite a lot of people, it's not an easy thing to do.
“So look, I think just give Brendon a break on all that. It was a hard thing for him to do, to come up here and speak about that, I'm sure. I knew what he was meaning. He cares about me, he cares about members of that team as well. So, yeah, I think don't read into his words too much.”
McCullum: We’re crystal clear on the direction we want this team to take.
The relationship between Stokes and McCullum has been speculated over since the winter Ashes series. It was widely reported that the pair were disaligned on their vision for the team, but there was no suggestion that the pair had actively fallen out. After the ECB investigation into the 4-1 Ashes loss, both McCullum and Key kept their jobs, and it seemed as if all three key figures had cleared the air from what took place in Australia.
However, the relationship between the trio was put under renewed pressure following the incident involving Stokes and Atkinson in a nightclub after the first Test, with reports initially that Stokes was set to retire from international cricket.
Speaking in Nottingham, McCullum denied that his and Stokes' relationship had become strained: “I said, 'Do you know where this has come from, the conversations around our relationship over the last six months?' He said, ‘No, I have no idea’. I said to him, ‘As far as I’m concerned, I consider you a good friend’. Obviously, we’ve been through a lot together as a working pair in leadership positions here in English cricket. We’re crystal clear on the direction we want this team to take.”
England have made two further changes to their XI from The Oval, alongside Stokes and Atkinson coming back in. Shoaib Bashir has returned to the side after he was left out as England shuffled their pack to cope with the loss of Stokes at The Oval, while Jamie Smith comes in for James Rew after taking paternity leave. The Test match begins tomorrow (June 25) at 11 am local time.
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