<\/p>\n
Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson are out of England\u2019s Test squad for the second match against New Zealand after their late-night episode at a nightclub. The fallout has thrown Stokes\u2019 captaincy and his future with the team into question. England\u2019s named Joe Root as their stand-in captain for now\u2014not the actual vice-captain, Harry Brook\u2014for the game starting June 17 at The Oval.<\/p>\n
So, what actually happened at the nightclub? After England\u2019s win at Lord\u2019s in the first Test, Stokes and Atkinson broke curfew and headed to a club in Chelsea. That\u2019s where things went sideways. The two got into an argument with Saracens rugby player Totoa Auvaa, and things escalated fast. The Saracens squad was out celebrating their season when the scuffle broke out. Auvaa ended up throwing a punch, and it hit England\u2019s security manager, who needed stitches afterwards. According to what\u2019s come out, the ECB said Stokes and Atkinson weren\u2019t the ones who started it.<\/p>\n
Stokes is meeting with his advisors this week to talk through his options. There\u2019s all sorts of talk about him possibly retiring from international cricket\u2014turns out, he\u2019s been thinking about it. But apparently, after cooling off, he\u2019s still undecided. He\u2019s supposed to sit down with Neil Fairbrother, who\u2019s been a close friend and advisor, to figure out what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n
As for the captaincy, Root steps in for now. Brook, who\u2019s actually vice-captain, wasn\u2019t picked\u2014maybe not a huge shock since he was fined last month over his own nightclub incident during the New Zealand tour. England has called up Jofra Archer and Jordan Cox to replace Stokes and Atkinson. Archer and Cox were in the IPL before this\u2014Archer\u2019s been with Rajasthan Royals, and Cox hasn\u2019t played a Test yet because injuries have stopped him twice from making his debut. Archer missed the first Test because there just wasn\u2019t enough time after the IPL.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the squad for the next match: 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), and Josh Tongue.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n