Ben Stokes apologises to teammates after nightclub controversy

Ben Stokes has revealed that one of his first acts on returning as England captain was to apologise to his teammates after missing the last Test following a curfew breach during a nightclub incident. Stokes stated that in order to accept responsibility for his actions and acknowledge their impact on others, he needed to be "big enough and man enough."

"Obviously, I apologized." Before the third and final Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, Stokes stated, "That was one of the first things I had to do as a captain."

"You look at the situation and it affects more than just myself. Joe Root, the team, and individuals outside of the playing environment were impacted. It undoubtedly affected young men making their debut. That should have been all about them.

"Unfortunately, a circumstance beyond their control took precedence over their big days, when they made their Test cricket debut for England. I should acknowledge and address that, which would be foolish and ignorant of me.

"When everything is going well, it's all well and good, but you have to take responsibility for things. You need to be big enough and man enough to take that upon your shoulders, and look everyone who it has affected in the eye and apologise the way you need to apologise. I did something like that."

According to Stokes, upon his return, he addressed the group and accepted responsibility for recent events before turning the group's attention to the series-deciding Test at Trent Bridge.

"The most important thing for me to do as captain of the team yesterday was to make sure that I told the guys that I was back in my proper position as captain of this team. I did need to obviously say a few things and acknowledge a few things to the team, and the team only, and I feel like I voiced those quite well to everyone.

"I feel I've also let them know where my concentration is and it is thoroughly on what we need to do this week. As players who were called up this week, everyone in the dressing room is aware of their responsibilities, and as captain, I am aware of my responsibilities to lead this team in a game that is very important.

"Yes, we did not achieve the desired outcome last week, but that cannot be changed. How we proceed this week is what we can influence and decide. We want the results desperately, and I want to be the result. I think I've done a pretty good job of making sure the team, which is the most important, knows that. England had a difficult week without Stokes, losing by 253 runs to Durham as their captain tried to get back into the game.

Joe Root, who had succeeded Stokes as captain, took over for an inexperienced team and was later criticized for some of England's tactical choices. "As his friend, it was hard to see the reaction that he got, and for me, that's something that hurt me because I'm very close with Joe," Stokes said.

"As I said, when something happens, it is obvious that it will affect someone else. Seeing Joe's impact on public opinion was difficult for me to see and read, if that makes sense. "Joe's bravery in taking that on that week should not be diminished by that. He could have said, "Nah, I don't need this," which would have been very, very easy for him to do. However, as he has repeatedly done, he once more prioritized the team.

"It was hard to watch from a number of different perspectives, watching the guys lose and feel the loss of the Test match. It's never nice because I know what that feels like, losing. However, witnessing some of Joe's undeserved reactions was something that hurts you as a friend as well as a coworker."

Additionally, Stokes acknowledged that this was the greatest amount of scrutiny he and head coach Brendon McCullum had endured since taking over the Test team. He stated, "Playing for your country always comes with pressure."

"Has the team been put under more pressure? Since Baz and I took on the roles of coach and captain, this is without a doubt the greatest amount of pressure we have experienced. That's okay. It's how you deal with it that proves if you're a good leader or not."