Ben Stokes returned with a wicket for Durham against Northamptonshire ahead of a potential reintroduction to the England squad for the third Test against New Zealand.
The England captain – who was dropped alongside teammate Gus Atkinson after breaking England’s midnight curfew during an incident at London nightclub involving a ECB security guard and a Saracens rugby player – took 1-60 in 18 overs on his return to first-class cricket as Durham rued five dropped catches.
Atkinson looked in fine fettle for Surrey, boasting 2-33 in 15 overs with an outstanding economy of 2.2 at Glamorgan.
The England captain was left out of the ongoing second Test alongside team-mate Gus Atkinson following an investigation into an incident in a London nightclub
Stokes and Atkinson, having made themselves available for their counties in in the aftermath of the nightclub incident, are expected to return to the international setup for the final Test of the series next week following the conclusion of investigations by the ECB and Cricket Regulator.
Atkinson could enter the England fray buoyed after his impressive figures – most of which came from a blistering eight-over opening spell which saw him bowl five maidens and give up just eight runs – as his side limited Glamorgan to 244-6 after the first day’s play.
Atkinson bowled five maidens and took two wickets in his first eight overs for Surrey
Stokes, though, has work to do for his Durham side, and will be ruing missed chances after opener Ricardo Vasconcelos (181no) was dropped just four balls into the seamer’s opening spell. Northants ended the day’s play well in the ascendancy on 388-6.
Elsewhere, England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed boosted his Test credentials with impressive performances on both sides of the ball, taking two wickets in just eight balls as Leicestershire skittled Yorkshire for 185 before making 58no of his side’s 177-3 at close of play.
Bostock calls for ‘common sense’ from ECB
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Nasser Hussain strongly defended Stokes and thinks the ECB should have backed their captain more
Durham chief executive Tim Bostock urged the ECB to take a “common sense” response to disciplining Stokes as the investigation into his conduct nears a close.
“I like to think common sense would prevail and he will be back next week to doing what he does best,” Bostock told BBC Look North.
“I don’t think there is a cricket fan who doesn’t want Ben Stokes leading England.
“I was a little bit bemused by some of the comments about his state of mind and maybe in the first 24 hours when this exploded, I am sure he was thinking, ‘what has happened here?’
“He has been absolutely fine, as [Durham head coach] Ryan [Campbell] said the other day.
“He is very positive and is always very positive.”
England vs New Zealand – results and schedule
All times UK and Ireland, all games live on Sky Sports
First Test (Lord’s) – England won by 115 runsSecond Test (The Kia Oval) – June 17-21 (11am)Third Test (Trent Bridge) – June 25-29 (11am)
Watch the Test series between England and New Zealand live on Sky Sports Cricket.
