London: Captain Ben Stokes and pacer Gus Atkinson have been included in the Three Lions squad for the third and final Test of the home series against New Zealand after a written warning, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Sunday.
Stokes and Atkinson were recently dropped from England’s squad for the second Test against New Zealand after allegedly breaching the team’s curfew and arguing with Saracens rugby player Todoa Auwa following their 115-run win in the series opener earlier this month.
However, the ECB found that Stokes and Atkinson had breached specific contractual obligations, for which they were given written warnings, with the body insisting that neither should be blamed for the nightclub incident as the captain was not present during the violent clash, while the fast bowler was subjected to unprovoked attacks and did not retaliate.
“Stokes and Atkinson were found to have breached specific contractual obligations which require England players to maintain the highest standards of conduct at all times and act in the best interests of England cricket,” the ECB said in a statement.
“The second Rodsey has not been considered for selection and they have both been given written warnings about their behaviour.
“It was also decided that no blame should be placed on the players for violent behavior in the nightclub.
“Stokes was not involved in the altercation and was not a witness to either incident.
“Evidence seen by the ECB demonstrates that Atkinson was the victim of unprovoked attacks and did not retaliate on either occasion.”
Both replaced Sonny Baker and James Rae in England’s squad for the third and final Test against New Zealand in Nottingham from June 25 to 29.
Apart from two changes, the rest of England’s side remained the same, which suffered a heavy 253-run defeat in the recently concluded second Test, which helped New Zealand level the series 1-1.
England Squad for Third New Zealand Test:
Ben Stokes (catch), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethel, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Kay, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith and Josh Dungu.