England captain Ben Stokes has apologized to his teammates for the disruption caused by his absence from the second Test against New Zealand, stating he needed to address those affected by the incident that led to his unavailability. Stokes returned to captain the team for the third Test.
Stokes, 35, and teammate Gus Atkinson were investigated by the Cricket Regulator and the ECB following an incident. Their absence left England shorthanded, with Joe Root taking interim leadership. New Zealand defeated England by 253 runs in the second Test, leveling the series.
Speaking before the third Test, Stokes emphasized the importance of leadership and accountability. "That was one of the first things I had to do as a captain," Stokes said. "You look at the situation, and it affects more than just myself. It affects a lot of people, it affected Joe, the squad, the people outside the playing environment."
He acknowledged that the situation overshadowed the debuts of several players. "It would be stupid and naive of me not to acknowledge and address that," Stokes stated. "It's something you do have to do, as someone who has responsibility of being a leader in a group. It’s all fine and well everything being fine and dandy when it’s all going well, but you need to take responsibility for things as well. You need to be big enough and man enough to take that upon your shoulders, and look everyone who it has affected in the eye and apologize the way you need to apologize. That is something that I did."
Stokes also commented on his relationship with England coach Brendon McCullum, indicating that while they are friends off the field, they don't always agree in their professional roles.