Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson are likely to miss the second Test match of the summer at The Oval next week, following an incident in a nightclub after their victory in the first Test at Lord's.
Both players are reported to have broken team curfew while celebrating their victory at Lord's, and were caught up in an incident in the early hours of the morning where it is understood an ECB security guard was punched. The ECB are investigating the incident, which comes months after a midnight curfew was implemented for the side following allegations of a team drinking culture during the Ashes.
If the ECB pull Stokes out of the second Test, Harry Brook will take over captaincy of the side. Brook was named vice-captain ahead of the Ashes, as well as taking on the white-ball captaincy role last year, although his position came under scrutiny after he was involved in a light-night altercation at a nightclub in New Zealand. As far as what England's XI could look like, however, with the potential for Jofra Archer also to be brought back in, England have wider options.
England's options to replace Stokes and Atkinson
While Stokes's batting has been in decline for several years, and came under scrutiny following his dismissal at Lord's, the absence of both him and Atkinson will require a re-balance. Of those who were named in the squad for the first Test who didn't make the final XI – Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker, Matt Fisher and James Rew – the most likely option is that Rehan Ahmed will be brought in to effectively replace Stokes as the all-rounder in the side. That would mean that Shoaib Bashir would drop out, with a quick replacing him.
If England assess The Oval wicket as providing similarly scant opportunities to spinners as Lord's did last week, they may choose to forgo the spinner altogether, leave out Bashir for an extra quick and strengthen their batting. This would bring James Rew into contention, while Dan Lawrence scored a Championship double-century following England's win at Lord's at the weekend.
If Archer returns, he will take the new ball with Robinson, effectively replacing Atkinson, and one of Sonny Baker or Matt Fisher will likely replace Bashir. If Archer doesn't return, England could field both Baker and Fisher, the latter likely taking the new ball. There are also bowling options from the county circuit England could consider calling up to their squad. The likes of Sam Cook, with his 27 wickets at 19.25 in Essex's Championship campaign so far this summer, would be an option as an opening option to replace Atkinson, should Archer not be ready to come in.
There could also be a desire for a more like-for-like option for Stokes, i.e a seam-bowling all-rounder, especially if England want to retain Bashir as the off-spinner.
Sam Curran is usually floated as an option to make a return to Test cricket when Stokes is injured. However, Curran is returning from his own injury and hasn't been bowling for Surrey in the Blast. Craig Overton could also come into contention; he hasn't played a Test match since 2022 but currently sits fourth in the Championship wicket-taking charts and has scored two first-class centuries this season.
Another contender is Jordan Clark. While Clark doesn't offer the same potential for runs as the other two, considering Stokes' own diminishing returns, that may not count him out. Clark has taken 17 Championship wickets for Surrey this season, and would be playing in familiar Oval conditions.
The Test match at The Oval will begin next Wednesday (June 17) with a statement from the ECB clarifying: "An announcement regarding the squad for the second Test will be made in due course."
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
