England expect Stokes return after second test collapse against New Zealand

England expect Ben Stokes to return to captain the side in the third test against New Zealand, head coach Brendon McCullum said on Sunday, after the all-rounder withdrew from the remainder of Durham’s County Championship match.

Stokes, 35, pulled out of Durham’s game against Northamptonshire at the request of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) amid a pending ECB investigation into an incident at a London nightclub following the first Test at Lord’s.

Fast bowler Gus Atkinson was involved alongside Stokes in breaking a team curfew, and is also expect to return to action for the third test match on June 25 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

England captain Stokes, who has led the test side since 2022, missed the second test at The Oval alongside Atkinson, where New Zealand completed a 253-run victory on day four to level the series 1-1 on Sunday.

"I've been speaking to Ben every day since we had the incident and obviously trying to be supportive, I think it's great that he was able to play cricket this week and get some runs and hopefully rediscover some of their form as well," McCullum told Sky Sports.

"Yeah at this stage that's what we are planning on. The rest of the squad will be out later on. This afternoon once we tell a few of the lads. But we are anticipating it later on today.

"It is obviously a quick turnaround, so we need to make sure we give guys that consistency message and deliver it appropriately. But we are anticipating that Ben will be back and captain."

Matt Henry produced New Zealand's best ever bowling figures against England on their soil with five wickets in a deadly second-test display.

Starting the fifth day on 182-5 chasing a huge 463 for an unlikely victory, England folded inside 50 minutes and were all out for 209.

Henry took all five wickets in the morning, beginning with the crucial removal of Joe Root lbw for 77 with the first ball of his second over of the day - Root adding only two runs to his overnight score.

Two balls later he flattened Jofra Archer's middle stump with an unplayable ball that scuttled low.

Continuing to torment England, in his next over he had Matthew Fisher chopping on to his stumps without scoring and with his next ball he had Josh Tongue edging to Daryl Mitchell.

Henry then finished it off in style by bowling Jordan Cox with an in-swinging yorker to finish the innings with six for 29 and take his match figures to 11 for 109 - the best display by a New Zealand bowler against England.

"Didn't expect it to unfold like that, but it saved a hot day in the field," said man of the match Henry, who suffered a back spasm in the defeat at Lord's in the first test.

"The way the guys applied themselves with the ball was relentless."

MISERABLE END FOR ENGLAND

It was a sorry end for England who have now lost six of their last eight tests.

After a relatively even first day of the match, New Zealand seized control on the second morning when a shambolic England bowling display allowed them to put on more than 100 runs for their last three wickets with Glenn Phillips making a century.

Henry took the crucial wickets of Root and Harry Brook in the first innings - a feat he also managed in the second.

Having earned a 100-run, first-innings lead, New Zealand piled on the runs in their second innings with Henry Nicholls making 121.

"I'm disappointed that we found ourselves on the wrong side of the result but that's how it sits," said Root, who returned as captain for a record-extending 65th time.

"Without sounding too sort of cliche, there have been a lot of good things in between some pretty ordinary stuff.

"Credit to Phillips, I thought he played brilliantly, same with (Henry) Nicholls in the second innings. Our batters have got to learn from that."