'It would be stupid and naive for me not to acknowledge that' - Ben Stokes apologises to England squad ahead of captaincy return

England captain Ben Stokes apologised to the rest of his teammates ahead of the third Test match against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, starting from Thursday, June 25. This comes after the all-rounder, along with Gus Atkinson, was involved in a nightclub melee after breaking the team curfew. 

Stokes' antics after England's first Test win saw him and the Surrey fast bowler come under investigation from the Cricket Regulator, during which the pair were deemed unavailable for selection for the second Test at the Oval. With the investigation coming out clean, both players were included in the squad for the game in Nottingham, with Stokes returning as captain. 

The 35-year-old was apologetic for his off-field controversies, as they had an adverse effect on interim captain Joe Root, who was forced to face the media after the incident, along with the three debutants from the previous game. The Durham star was disappointed to take the limelight away from James Rew, Sonny Baker and Jordan Cox, whose debuts were tarnished by the nightclub debacle. 

"That was one of the first things I had to do as a captain. You look at a situation and it affects more than just myself. It affected Joe, it affected the squad, it affects the people outside the playing environment. It no doubt had an effect on the lads who were making their debut. That should have been all about them but unfortunately a situation out of their control took precedence over their big day of making their debut for England in Test cricket," Ben Stokes said during the pre-match press conference. 

Stokes accepted the fact that a leader has to be understanding enough to apologise to the rest of the team and take responsibility in times of adversity, something he did when he returned to England's dressing room this week. 

"It would be stupid and naive for me not to acknowledge that and address that. And it's something that you do have to do as someone who's got the responsibility of being a leader within a group. It's all fine and well everything being fine and dandy when it's going well, but you need to take responsibility for things as well. If that's you that needs to take that responsibility, you need to be big enough and man enough to be able to take that upon your shoulders, look everyone in the eye, and apologise how you need to apologise. That's what I did," the England captain added. 

Stokes' return to the England side will come as a major boost after the hosts suffered a damaging 253-run defeat to New Zealand at the Oval. The captain returns to the playing XI along with Atkinson, Jamie Smith and Shoaib Bashir.