Ben Stokes returned to training in Durham without England

Ben Stokes returned to training on Saturday following a nightclub incident in which his captain passed out during England’s second Test against New Zealand.

Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson have been ruled out of the second Test at The Oval from Wednesday pending tests.

The pair breached England’s midnight curfew during Sunday’s first Test defeat in the Black Cup. On Monday morning, a member of security staff was seen being punched by a Saracens rugby player.

Stokes, 35, was at Chester-le-Street on Saturday for the second day of the Durham County Championship match against Derbyshire.

The all-rounder walked into the middle before the game, then batted in the nets with Durham batting coach Dale Benkenstein. Stokes County and international team-mate Emilio Game was also in training.

Despite an investigation by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) barring them from playing in the second Test, Stokes and Atkinson were cleared to play domestic cricket.

Hence, the pair are likely to feature in the next county championship matches from Friday. Durham are at home to Northants, while Atkinson’s Surrey are away at Glamorgan.

Last Monday, the ECB issued a statement confirming that Stokes and Atkinson were involved in breaching team protocols and announced that the governing body would investigate.

Soon after, some reported that Stokes was considering retirement. Those comments have since cooled and the 35-year-old’s return to training appears to be a sign that his playing career will continue.

Asked on Thursday whether he expected Stokes to play international cricket, England director of cricket Rob K said: “I don’t see why not.”

But there is no guarantee that Stokes will return to the England captaincy, a position he has held since 2022.

“There’s a lot of things that happen before that,” Key said. “We have to carry out the investigation, find out exactly what happened, we are in this period, after that no decision will be made.”

It is understood that all options are open to the ECB in relation to Stokes and the captaincy pending the outcome of the investigation.

However, the ECB has rejected requests to step down as boss. The notion that the top brass in the regime are united in their desire to take over the captaincy from Stokes is also believed to be incorrect.

The result of the ECB examination is not expected before the start of the second examination. If that doesn’t happen, there will need to be an overhaul before England can confirm their squad for the Test at Trent Bridge, which will start three days after the second deadline.

England head coach Brendon McCullum is set to address the media at The Oval on Monday.