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Getty ImagesIt would be an “absolute travesty” if Ben Stokes does not captain England again but his future remains in doubt, says former skipper Michael Vaughan.
Stokes was left out of England’s squad for the second Test against New Zealand, which began on Wednesday, after he broke the team’s midnight curfew and was involved in an incident in a nightclub last week.
The topic dominated the build-up to the Oval Test, with coach Brendon McCullum and director Rob Key both refusing to confirm they want the talismanic all-rounder to return as skipper.
But Vaughan said Stokes has enough “credit in the bank” to return.
“This team needs him as a leader, as a captain,” Vaughan told BBC Test Match Special.
“His tactical awareness of the game has been right up there with the best captains I have seen.”
Vaughan said there are “many more” senior figures at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) who have not got the same credit in the bank as Stokes.
“I wouldn’t want to be that person that says to the English cricket fan ‘Ben Stokes is not our captain any more’,” added Vaughan.
Former captain Joe Root is standing in for Stokes this week, having accepted the job on a “game-by-game” basis.
Stokes and bowler Gus Atkinson breached the team’s midnight curfew the night after victory in the first Test and were present when a member of England’s security staff was struck by a Saracens rugby player.
Key was first to speak in the aftermath.
Asked if Stokes would return as a player he said, “I don’t see why not” – but he turned down repeated opportunities to back him as a captain.
Speaking on Monday, McCullum said he was “worried” about his captain, but again would not be drawn on whether he would lead the team again.
Two investigations, one by the ECB and another by the Cricket Regulator, remain ongoing.
“I find it a worry for English cricket – the Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum relationship, the Ben Stokes-Rob Key relationship,” said Vaughan.
“On the back of what we saw in the press conference, I would doubt whether those relationships can be moulded together again.”
Stokes, McCullum and Key, who have held a close relationship since taking charge of England’s Test cricket in 2022, were all kept in their jobs despite England’s 4-1 Ashes defeat this winter.
Stokes said reports of a rift between he and McCullum had been overstated in Australia. On Monday, McCullum denied their relationship was strained.
Other than a brief Instagram post wishing his team-mates well in the second Test, Stokes has not spoken publicly since the incident.
His county coach at Durham, Ryan Campbell, said he was in “good spirits” and the all-rounder could feature for them on Friday.
