Following Brendon McCullum expressing his 'worry and concern' for Ben Stokes, Mark Butcher says that Stokes is still likely undecided on whether to continue as England Test captain.
Mark Butcher on McCullum's recent Ben Stokes remarks
The England head coach spoke to the media yesterday (June 15), ahead of the second Test of their series against New Zealand, which will begin at The Oval tomorrow (June 17). McCullum said that he went through "a range of emotions" after hearing that both Stokes and Gus Atkinson had broken the team's midnight curfew while celebrating England's win in the first Test, and had been involved in an altercation with a Saracens rugby player which left an ECB support staff member needing medical attention. He said his emotions turned quickly to "worry and concern" for Stokes, who was reportedly considering retiring from international cricket last week.
Speaking on Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, Butcher said: "If Brendon had any idea as to Ben Stokes’ mental state in terms of returning to the team, let alone captaining the team, he probably would have said ‘yeah, of course it’s not his last Test, he’ll be back and he’ll be our captain when he’s ready to do so’.
"But, reading between the lines, it’s saying that Ben is having real difficulty in seeing a way through this himself. So the decision wouldn't be that the ECB would sack him or that Brendon doesn’t want him as captain anymore, but that Ben is undecided, or unsure, or just has no idea about what the next day looks like, as opposed to what the future of his captaincy looks like."
Joe Root has been named as England's interim captain for tomorrow's Test match, selected over Harry Brook – England's official vice-captain – postponing any potential transition of leadership. While Stokes was reportedly considering calling time on his playing career last week, he has since returned to training with Durham's County Championship side, and could play in their fixture against Northants later in the week.
England have made sweeping changes to their Test XI after standing down both Stokes and Atkinson. Sonny Baker and Jordan Cox will both make their Test debuts at The Oval, while James Rew may also earn his first international cap if Jamie Smith goes on paternity leave during the match. Ollie Robinson will miss the match with soreness to his knee, with Jofra Archer also named in the side having built his workloads back up after his IPL stint.
"England have gone with a safer looking team," said Butcher. "They bat down to Cox at seven, who's just made a blistering double hundred in his only Championship appearance so far. Bethell and Root will share a bit of spin duty should it be required. My instinct is always, if you think the pitch is pretty flat, then you're going to need somebody who bowls spin properly, but I can absolutely understand why they haven't gone that route in this Test match, given everything else that's going on."
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