Ben Stokes: England captain denies rift with head coach Brendon McCullum - 'We're close, give him a break'

England captain Ben Stokes has refuted any suggestion his relationship with head coach Brendon McCullum has suffered as a result of his suspension following a breach of curfew rules set out by the ECB. 

Stokes and bowler Gus Atkinson were made unavailable for the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval - which England lost by 253 runs - following an episode in the early hours on Monday June 8, the day after England's 115-run victory at Lord's in the series opener, with an investigation launched.

The ECB said on Sunday a disciplinary process found "no blame" should be attached to the players for the scuffles at the nightclub, adding that fast bowler Atkinson was the "victim of unproved attacks and did not retaliate" and that all-rounder Stokes was not involved in, and did not witness, any altercations.

In a wide-ranging press conference, Stokes also:

• Revealed it was "tough to watch" team lose and friend Joe Root suffer
• Says he has spoken to team-mates and apologised
• Said front page controversy and playing for Durham might "end up good for my cricket"
• Refuses to look at captaincy in long term beyond third Test vs New Zealand
• Wouldn't comment on England's midnight curfew and whether he supports it
• Says he was "overwhelmed" by support he's received

Both Stokes and Atkinson have now been recalled for England's third-Test decider against New Zealand, starting on Thursday live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am. Both have been issued with written conduct warnings for contravening "specific contractual obligations."

Speaking to media for the first time since the incident on Wednesday, Stokes said: "There's been a big misconception around me and Brendon.

"Me and Brendon have a professional relationship in terms of him being head coach and me being captain, but then we've also got a relationship away from that.

"We genuinely are very good mates, and have built a rapport away from cricket.

"We've been through some testing times, great times, do we agree on everything? Absolutely not.

"Not agreeing on everything shouldn't be seen as a divide between me and Brendon.

"You are allowed to disagree and have discussions. Our relationship goes beyond me being captain and him head coach."

• As it happened: Stokes faces media ahead of England return
• Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson return for decider at Trent Bridge
• Brendon McCullum says Ben Stokes relationship not tarnished
• Stuart Broad: England defeat shows how they need Ben Stokes
• England thrashed by 253 runs as New Zealand level Test series

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On McCullum previously expressing public concern about Stokes, the England skipper added: "Friends care for each other, don't they?

"Just like I think anyone else would if someone was worried about one of their friends, then how they portray that in front of quite a lot of people, it's not an easy thing to do, I don't think.

"I think just give Brendon a break on all that. It was a hard thing for him to do to come up here and speak about that, I'm sure.

"I knew what he was meaning. He cares about me, he cares about members of that team as well. So, I think don't read into his words too much."

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Stokes was also asked whether the entire incident may actually have brought him and McCullum closer.

In response, he said: "It's a good question that [are you closer to McCullum?]. We certainly haven't drifted apart.

"There's been big speculation about it.

"I guess when you do go through difficult times, you do find a different side to a relationship, maybe, than you never thought you could have.

"You don't plan on going through something like this together in a professional environment.

"But me and Brendon were talking pretty much every day, especially in the initial period.

"When the game started, Baz concentrated on the team as he needed to.

"Maybe in the future we'll look back on this and say this did bring us tighter and closer.

"But this 'rift' and 'drifting apart,' that's certainly not the case."

Stokes: Tough to watch Root suffer | 'Of course I've apologised to team-mates'

Stokes' stand-in as skipper, Joe Root, presided over an ill-thought-out bouncer barrage on the second morning that allowed New Zealand to plunder 100 runs in under 20 overs to effectively take the Test away from England.

Stokes admits he has found the criticism of Root and the team that followed difficult, saying: "It's always difficult. I was obviously playing for Durham and watching how things were going. I guess, for me, Joe Root in particular is someone who, we've known each other since we were kids, and he got put into a situation which he never thought would probably have to be bestowed upon him again, after walking away from captaincy.

"But I think that in itself shows that not only is he one of the greats of the game on the field, but I think it shows a lot about his character.

"Seeing him stand up and take that responsibility on last week showed a lot about his character but then also from the other side for me as his friend, it was hard to see the reaction that he got.

"And for me that's something that hurt me because I'm very close with Joe. And as I said at the start, when something happens, it's obviously going to effect someone else. And seeing the effect that it had on Joe from public opinion was hard to see and read from my point of view, if that makes sense.

"But that shouldn't take away the courage that Joe showed in taking that on that week. It would have been very easy for him to have said, 'nah, I don't need this.' But yet again, he put the team first, as he has done on multiple occasions.

"It was tough to watch from a few different angles. Obviously, watching the guys lose and go through the motions of losing the Test match, it's never nice because I know what that feels like.

"But then seeing some of the reaction that Joe undeservedly got was something that hurts you, not only as a colleague but also as a friend."

Asked whether he had apologised to his team-mates over the whole affair, Stokes revealed it was one of the first things he did.

In addition to pointing out the awkward positions the likes of Root, McCullum and co were placed in, he placed emphasis on the fact the Test debuts of James Rew, Jordan Cox and Sonny Baker had been overshadowed.

"You look at a situation and it obviously affects more than just myself," Stokes said.

"It affects a lot of people; Joe Root, the squad, people outside of the playing environment.

"It no doubt had an affect on people making their debuts. That should have been all about them but unfortunately a situation outside of their control took precedent over their big days.

"It would be stupid and naive of me not to acknowledge and address that.

"It's something you do have to do as someone who has the responsibility of being the leader of the group.

"It's fine when it's all going well, but you do need to take responsibility, also, for things.

"And if it's on you to take responsibility, you need to be big enough and man enough to take it on your shoulders and look everyone in the eye that was affected and apologise.

"That's something that I did."

Stokes: Maybe being on front page for wrong reasons will end up good for my cricket

While absent from The Oval and England's defeat, Stokes fell just five runs short of a century on his return to Durham.

Stokes hammered 95 off 118 balls against Northants in the County Championship before eventually being dismissed immediately after the tea interval when he was bowled by Harry Conway.

"It was good to get some runs for Durham to be honest," Stokes said.

"It was nice to get out there and feel things I've been trying to find. When you simplify things, it's actually amazing.

"When I look back on it and thought about it, the thing I was trying to find was something that actually wasn't there, if that makes sense.

"I just cleared my mind of everything and it made it pretty simple. Just go out there and react to the ball.

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"Definitely before that I was thinking about too much before the ball was coming down. And I wasn't doing what you need to do when you're batting.

"I was overcomplicating things before, whereas I had a real clear mind going into training and the game with Durham.

"I always try to take the positives out of things. Maybe being on the front page for the wrong things could be good for my cricket."

'Stokes more open than expected and contrite but also avoided topics'

Sky Sports News' James Cole:

"I thought Ben Stokes spoke fairly openly today.

"As journalists before the press conference, we wondered and chatted about what sort of Stokes we would get. He can be, when he wants to be, fairly guarded and fairly reticent.

"But actually, although there were places he didn't want to go, he articulated more than I was expecting.

"And one thing we did get from him was contrition.

"Stokes accepted his actions have had a negative impact on a lot of people, but there were also places he didn't want to go today.

"He avoided a fair few questions, spoke repeatedly about 'the process', a word we've heard a lot from ECB representatives over the last few days when not wanting to go into detail about what happened around the investigation and indeed on the night in the nightclub itself.

"Stokes also dismissed reports he'd threatened to walk away from English cricket, and he didn't commit beyond this Test to the captaincy before I asked him about the curfew.

"Remember, England brought in this midnight curfew off the back of The Ashes because of numerous instances of alcohol-related misdemeanours, shall we say.

"Stokes wasn't privy to that, because it was during the white-ball T20 World Cup when Harry Brook was in charge. This curfew hasn't come from Ben Stokes.

"When I asked him did he back it, believe in it and know about it, although he says he answered the question, I'll let others decide."

Watch the third Test between England and New Zealand, at Trent Bridge, live from 10am on Thursday (11am first ball) on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event. Get instant access with NOW.

England vs New Zealand results and schedule

All times UK and Ireland, all games live on Sky Sports

• First Test (Lord's) - England won by 115 runs
• Second Test (The Kia Oval) - New Zealand won by 253 runs
• Third Test (Trent Bridge) - June 25-29 (11am)