Ben Stokes, Gus Atkinson set to return for third Test after Championship withdrawal

Test captain Ben Stokes and seamer Gus Atkinson look set to return for England’s third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge after being pulled out of their County Championship matches having been stood down for the ongoing second Test.

Stokes and Atkinson were unavailable for selection at The Oval after breaking the team curfew following victory in the first Test, which led to an incident at a Chelsea nightclub in which an ECB security liaison was struck.

The pair was allowed to play for their counties while investigations from The Cricket Regulator and the ECB were ongoing, with both findings expected for Monday. The ECB is keen to stress their investigation – separate to The Cricket Regulator – is not complete. But it emerged at the start of the second Test that Stokes’ return was likely, and as captain, relieving Joe Root, who has acted as interim in a tough week on and off the field.

Stokes struck 95 for Durham against Northamptonshire on Saturday, as England were tumbling to 182 for 5 at The Oval in pursuit of a target of 463. He also took 1 for 80 from 25 overs in the first innings. Atkinson managed 4 for 61 against Glamorgan for Surrey. Both have been pulled ahead of day three of their matches, with Colin Ackermann (Stokes) and Tom Lawes (Atkinson) replacing them.

England had made five changes for the second Test, with Jamie Smith (paternity leave) and Ollie Robinson (right knee issue). With Smith set to return as wicketkeeper, and Robinson seemingly back at 100 per cent on the practice wickets during the second Test, the hosts could well make five changes again for what is likely to be a decider at Trent Bridge.

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