England captain Ben Stokes has revealed that he apologised to his teammates after returning to the side for the decisive third Test against New Zealand, admitting that the off-field controversy involving him and fast bowler Gus Atkinson had an impact on the team. 

Stokes and Atkinson missed the second Test after being stood down pending an investigation into an alleged breach of the team’s midnight curfew following England’s victory in the series opener. Although both players were cleared of any violent conduct, a disciplinary hearing found they had breached contractual obligations and issued them written warnings.

Speaking ahead of the third Test at Trent Bridge, Stokes said one of his first responsibilities after rejoining the squad was to address the dressing room and acknowledge the effect the episode had on others.

“That was one of the first things I had to do as a captain,” Stokes told reporters.

The England skipper admitted the situation extended beyond himself and affected several members of the squad, particularly the younger players who were making their Test debuts during the second match.

“It affected Joe, it affected the squad, it affects the people outside the playing environment. It no doubt had an effect on the lads who were making their debut. That should have been all about them, but unfortunately a situation out of their control took precedence over their big day of making their debut for England in Test cricket,” he added.

With Stokes absent, Joe Root led a much-changed England side that included debutants Sonny Baker, Jordan Cox and James Rew. England suffered a heavy 253-run defeat, allowing New Zealand to level the series at 1-1.

Stokes said leadership also means accepting responsibility when things go wrong and making amends where necessary.

“It would be stupid and naive for me not to acknowledge that and address that. It’s all fine and well everything being fine and dandy when it’s going well, but you need to take responsibility for things as well. If that’s you that needs to take that responsibility, you need to be big enough and man enough to be able to take that upon your shoulders, look everyone in the eye, and apologise how you need to apologise. That’s what I did,” he said.

The controversy also led to questions over Stokes’ relationship with England head coach Brendon McCullum. However, both men have dismissed suggestions of any rift, with Stokes insisting their bond remains strong.

“You don’t plan on going through something like this together in a professional environment. Me and Brendon were talking pretty much every day in the initial period.

“Maybe in the future we’ll look back on this and go, this did bring us tighter. This rift, this drifting apart, we certainly haven’t drifted.”

With the series level and one match remaining, the all-rounder stressed that both players are now fully focused on helping England finish strongly.

“The main thing about me being back, Gus being back, is for us to focus on the main objective, which is the cricket this week.

“It’s 1-1 in the series, we’ve got one game left, and the importance of the result of this game is the one thing we need to concentrate on,” he concluded.