England head coach Brendon McCullum says that captain Ben Stokes will return to the side for the deciding third Test against New Zealand.
Stokes and Gus Atkinson were withdrawn by the ECB from the third day's play of their respective County Championship matches on Sunday and look set to return to the England fold for a series decider at Trent Bridge from Thursday after New Zealand secured a crushing victory in the second Test.
Speaking on Sunday after England fell to a 253-run defeat at The Oval, McCullum said: "Ben will be back and he will be captain. We will name the squad this afternoon.
"Everyone is excited about that, especially after seeing him hit some form with Durham.
"My view on that has not changed, I've been speaking to Ben every single day since we had the incident. My assessment was that I was worried about him.
"But to see him go out there, play some cricket and enjoy himself was really positive. It is great to see him back and playing. I look forward to seeing him in a few days."
Stokes and Atkinson were left out of the second Test against New Zealand after they breached the team's midnight curfew in the hours after victory in the first Test and were reportedly present during an incident involving a member of England's security staff and a Saracens player.
It is understood that the investigation into the nightclub incident involving both players is not yet complete.
McCullum had said on Monday that he had "worry and concern" for Stokes but the all-rounder subsequently played for his county, Durham, on Friday and Saturday against Northamptonshire.
Durham chief executive Tim Bostock said he was "bemused" by doubts about Stokes, insisting the 35-year-old was "absolutely fine".
Stokes then caught the eye on Saturday with 95 runs.
Asked about the discrepancy in the remarks, McCullum told Your Site Cricket: "People always have a difference of opinion and see things differently.
"From my point of view, I have been speaking to Ben every day since we had the incident to try and be supportive.
"I think it was great that he was able to play cricket this week and get some runs and hopefully rediscover some form as well.
"We know when he is performing at his optimal level, he is an asset that every team in the world would like and we are no different.
"Those conversations between us are private, I am not going to go in those at all. People can assess their view of things differently to how I did.
"I care about Ben and I am pleased he got some game time. He had a pep in his step so I am looking forward to seeing him."
McCullum and Stokes have held the respective roles of coach and captain since 2022 and denied speculation after England's 4-1 Ashes drubbing at the start of the year that their relationship had become strained.
On the state of that relationship with Stokes now going forward in wake of the nightclub incident and breach of team curfew, McCullum said: "You have to separate the actions from the man.
"I was disappointed in the actions that did not meet the standards we had set for ourselves.
"But then you support the man and I have always firmly believed in that.
"In Stokes' case it is no different. We have a vision of what we are trying to achieve with English cricket which is a team that is long-term sustainably successful.
"If we are able to push towards that then hopefully we can achieve it.
"We have worked together for four years, we have worked brilliantly together for four years, we have robust conversations as you would expect from leaders in an organisation and I don't see that changing.
"He has got an internal disciplinary process which he needed to go through as well.
"Until you have that information, no one is going to be able to make any decisions and that is just the formal process that needs to go through."
Your Site Cricket's Stuart Broad:
"New Zealand winning by 253 runs will hurt Stokes. He will be feeling a lot of pain in this result as he knows it is a result of his actions.
"I am sure he has spoken to most of the guys in the team although he has said nothing of note publicly. I am sure there will be a face-to-face apology and then they will move on.
"Say sorry, say it was a mistake, and then try to win the series as next week's result is important.
"If England lose the series 2-1, there are a huge amount of questions over everything."
Speaking on the eve of the final day's play starting at The Oval, Your Site Cricket's Nasser Hussain told Your Site News: "The regulator still has to announce what they found from the incident, but it suggests they probably haven't uncovered anything beyond what is already known.
"This week has shown how much England have missed Ben Stokes - not just as a batter or a bowler, but as a cricketer, a captain, and someone who balances the side.
"England were forced to go without spinner Shoaib Bashir because they couldn't find that balance without [Stokes]. England are a better side with Ben Stokes as their all-rounder and captain."
Fellow former England captain Michael Atherton said: "I take [that to mean] England will expect them to play at Trent Bridge.
"That formal investigation is not yet complete but it's the clearest signal that both will return at Trent Bridge.
"If that's the case, if Ben Stokes is able to play, there's no reason why he shouldn't captain, so he'll come back as captain, one assumes.
"And if Ollie Robinson is fit and Jamie Smith is good to go after the birth of his kid, we could have five changes and go back to the team that England played and won at Lord's after this interim period of utter chaos."
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