England captain Ben Stokes and bowler Gus Atkinson will not take part in the Test against New Zealand at The Oval, starting on 17 June, after breaking curfew rules in a Chelsea nightclub following their victory at Lord’s, England Cricket announced last week. Sonny Baker and Jordan Cox will make their debuts as their replacements.At a press conference at The Oval, managing director of England men’s cricket Rob Key “answered the myriad questions over this whole mess with the enthusiasm of someone in a hostage video”, said cricket correspondent Chris Stocks in The i Paper. And as Key was fielding questions “mere metres away from a row of kegs of beer, the irony was lost on nobody”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Join 350,000+ subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of
