McCullum ready to work with captain Stokes again

McCullum ready to work with captain Stokes againImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Stokes and McCullum have led England's Test side since 2022ByStephan ShemiltCricket Correspondent at The Kia OvalPublished2 minutes agoCommentsEngland head coach Brendon McCullum says he can work with Ben Stokes when the captain returns for the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson were made unavailable for the huge second-Test defeat pending an investigation into an incident in a London nightclub.Following a 4-1 Ashes series defeat that was dogged by off-field problems, both Stokes and McCullum denied their relationship had deteriorated in Australia.Then, following England's win in the first Test since the Ashes - against New Zealand at Lord's - Stokes broke the team's midnight curfew in celebrating the victory.The results of the investigation are still to be confirmed, but McCullum told BBC Test Match Special he is expecting Stokes and Atkinson to be available in Nottingham, with Stokes resuming the captaincy.On his relationship with the captain, McCullum said: "You're just trying to make sure you're very communicative right throughout."We all got the same ambition, which is to make English cricket a very good team and to try to achieve results on the field, and that hasn't changed."McCullum said he has spoken to Stokes "every day" since the nightclub incident, which occurred in the early hours of Monday, 8 June.The New Zealander also confirmed England director of cricket Rob Key has visited Stokes this week.Related topicsCricketEngland Men's Cricket TeamChaotic England fortnight ends with huge defeatPublished1 hour agoStokes and Atkinson withdrawn from county gamesPublished3 hours agoMore on this storyGet cricket news sent straight to your phonePublished8 June