England drop Ben Stokes and name Joe Root interim captain

Joe Root will captain England in next week’s second Test against New Zealand at The Oval after Ben Stokes was left out of the squad following his involvement in an incident at a London nightclub in the early hours of Monday morning. Stokes, who took over the captaincy from Root in the summer of 2022, has still yet to decide his future after a week in which his position has come under scrutiny amidst fears he may walk away from international cricket altogether. Both Stokes and Gus Atkinson, who were both present when a player from the Saracens rugby union team allegedly punched an England security guard at the Rex Rooms in Chelsea, have been excluded from a 15-man squad while an England & Wales Cricket Board investigation into their behaviour continues. The pair both breached the team’s midnight curfew that was introduced following a winter that was beset by off-the-field controversies during tours of New Zealand and Australia. Yet the delayed squad announcement from the ECB gave little details on Stokes’ long-term future, with the player believed to still be weighing up his options.  More details on the situation may come on Thursday morning when Rob Key, England’s director of cricket, is scheduled to speak to the media in London. “The England & Wales Cricket Board can confirm that, given the ongoing investigation, Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have not been made available for selection for the Rothesay second Test against New Zealand, which starts at the Kia Oval on Wednesday 17 June,” said a brief statement. “Yorkshire batter Joe Root will lead the team as interim captain. Sussex fast bowler Jofra Archer and Essex batter Jordan Cox have been added to the squad.” England’s squad for second New Zealand Test Joe Root (Yorkshire) – Captain Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire) Jofra Archer (Sussex) Sonny Baker (Hampshire) Shoaib Bashir (Derbyshire) Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire) Harry Brook (Yorkshire) Jordan Cox (Essex) Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire) Matthew Fisher (Surrey) Emilio Gay (Durham) James Rew (Somerset) Ollie Robinson (Sussex) Jamie Smith (Surrey) Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire) Root led England in a record 64 Tests before resigning the captaincy in 2022 following a run of just one win in 17 matches. Opting for him on an interim basis instead of Harry Brook, Stokes’ deputy and England’s white-ball captain, is particularly telling and suggests that the appetite from the ECB to strip Stokes of the captaincy on a permanent basis has diminished. Brook himself was involved in off-the-field controversy last October when he was punched by a Wellington bouncer in a late-night incident that took place just hours before England’s third ODI against New Zealand. Read more Report: Ben Stokes considers shock England retirement Opinion: Two men are to blame for this England mess – they should both be sacked It was the controversy over that clash, initially hushed up by England, that led to the ECB introducing the midnight curfew last January following the Ashes series in Australia. And the optics of him taking on the Test captaincy, even on an interim basis, because Stokes has been stood down for his own disciplinary breach would have been absurd. The selection of Archer meanwhile is a boost given Atkinson’s absence, while Cox looks like an option if England decide to replace their all-rounder captain with a batter.