Ben Stokes: Durham door always open for England captain, says Ryan Campbell

Stokes’ future as Test captain is uncertain as England head coach Brendon McCullum makes no guarantees. When he faced the media on Monday.

But Stokes has the full support of Australian Campbell, who has been unimpressed with how his player has been treated since the incident at a London nightclub broke last week.

“Ben knows he made a mistake and broke the curfew, but some of the reactions are a bit over the top,” Campbell added.

“I’m a bit old school, I like a beer after a cricket game if you get 10 days off but I’m not a coach, I don’t run that system.”

Stokes has played two county matches for Durham in the run-up to the New Zealand series and Campbell has already suggested he has a “75% chance” against Northants.

With his availability uncertain for the third Test at Trent Bridge starting June 25, the four-day championship game could be Stokes’ last red-ball cricket before the Test series with Pakistan in mid-August.

“Ben is a competitor and he loves to play and he wants to play,” Campbell said. “He threw up his hands and said, ‘He made a mistake.’

“From what I’ve seen, he’s in good spirits, he’s back in training, working hard and the rest will take care of itself.”