ENGLAND captain Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have been left out of the squad for next week’s second Test against New Zealand, with former skipper Joe Root answering an SOS to lead the side on an interim basis.

Stokes and Atkinson broke team protocols as they celebrated Sunday’s victory over the Black Caps at Lord’s, breaching a midnight curfew before a confrontation took place involving Saracens rugby union player Totoa Auvaa.

They remain subject to an internal investigation by the England and Wales Cricket Board, and another by the independent Cricket Regulator, but fears that Stokes was ready to stand down as skipper or even announce his international retirement have cooled.

Instead, the ECB has bought some time by leaving both men out of next Wednesday’s clash at the Oval without administering any formal disciplinary action.

Intriguingly, Harry Brook has not stepped up from his role as vice-captain. That role goes to Root, who held the post for five years before stepping down in 2022 and is viewed as the most mature presence in a dressing room that has faced plentiful criticism of its professionalism.

Brook has been the white-ball captain for over a year and replaced Ollie Pope as Stokes’ deputy at the end of last summer.

But asking him to lead the team next week, and face the barrage of questions that will follow about the team’s culture and relationship with alcohol, may well have seemed too risky a move. Brook was involved in a nightclub altercation of his own on the pre-Ashes tour of New Zealand in November, struck by a bouncer after a late night drinking session the night before an ODI in Wellington.

There was no curfew in place at the time but he was heavily fined, given a final warning and censured by the Cricket Regulator.

Root, meanwhile, has a near flawless disciplinary record and can be relied upon as the ultimate “safe pair of hands” in what is likely to be an extremely challenging week off the field.

Personnel-wise, Jofra Archer makes his expected return following a post-Indian Premier League break and can expect to slot seamlessly into Atkinson’s place. Jordan Cox has also been added to the squad and could vie with James Rew and Rehan Ahmed for Stokes’ spot in the side.

The squad will convene on Sunday for a standard behind-closed-doors training session three days from the game, but managing director of men’s cricket Rob Key is likely to make a media appearance before that. Head coach Brendon McCullum, whose mantra that “nothing good happens after midnight” has had plenty of airtime of late, should get his say on Monday.

And Stokes will loom large over proceedings, with a full resolution less straightforward than selecting a squad of 15. Showing teeth over the disregard for the recently imposed standards of behaviour is seen as a must, as the governing body tries to rebuild the national team’s reputation.