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England and New Zealand have been up against each other in a three-match Test series. The first match has concluded as the Three Lions won the game by 115 runs in a batting graveyard at the Lord’s Cricket Ground. After the match, Ben Stokes and England pacer Gus Atkinson were involved in a nightclub fight against a rugby player, breaking the team curfew protocols.
After the physical altercation with Totoa Auvaa, the former Samoa A and Samoa Under-20 captain, who stands 6ft 5in (1.95m) tall. Ahead of the fight, Stokes and Atkinson breached team curfew after going out at night to a club, and now both the English captain Stokes and Atkinson have been dropped from the side.
Joe Root replaces Ben Stokes
Now, as the England Cricket and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have announced their team for the 2nd Test against the Kiwis, Joe Root has been named as the captain for the side ahead of Harry Brook, who is also the vice-captain of the side, and both Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have been dropped from the Test match as part of the punishment.
ECB's statement said, "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 2nd Test against New Zealand, which starts at the Kia Oval on Wednesday 17 June."
Joe Root returns to captaincy after four years
Root has led the Test team for a record 64 matches from 2017 to 2022, before Ben Stokes first took over. He has been a sensational captain for the Three Lions as he recorded 27 wins, which is tied with Michael Vaughan for the most wins by an England Test captain.
The 35-year-old batter also led the side in Pakistan last year when Ben Stokes missed the first Test through illness, but he has always come up big for the side in crucial times, as Harry Brook himself was fined and cautioned for an incident in a nightclub in New Zealand last year.
Archer returns to the squad after missing the 1st Test
The Three Lions have made two changes in place of Stokes and Atkinson, as wicketkeeper-batter Jordan Cox and pacer Jofra Archer return to the side, as the latter was being rested from the first Test following his TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 stint with Rajasthan Royals. It was previously confirmed by head coach Brendon McCullum that Archer will be available for this Test.
Cox, who was twice denied an anticipated Test debut due to injury, has not played a first-class match since appearing for Essex in September of last year. He has already played for the England Lions in a 50-over series against South Africa, and he delivered a fluent knock of 40 from 31 balls as Essex defeated Kent in the Vitality Blast on Tuesday evening.
England Test squad for 2nd Test vs New Zealand: Joe Root (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, James Rew, Ollie Robinson, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue
