Durham bemused by Stokes doubts as England captain finds home comfort

Durham bemused by Stokes doubts as England captain finds home comfortImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ben Stokes is playing for Durham against Northamptonshire, his third County Championship match of the seasonByMatthew Henry, BBC Sport journalist at Chester-le-Street and Adam Samuel, BBC Look North sports reporterPublished19 June 2026, 16:18 BSTUpdated 41 minutes agoDurham chief executive Tim Bostock says he is “bemused” about doubts around England Test captain Ben Stokes’ “state of mind” following an incident in a London nightclub.All-rounder Stokes, 35, was left out of England’s squad for the second Test against New Zealand after breaking the team’s midnight curfew.Speaking at a sombre press conference on Monday, England coach Brendon McCullum repeatedly mentioned he was “worried” about Stokes while refusing to back him to return as skipper.Bostock mentioned Stokes, who is playing for Durham against Northamptonshire on Friday, is “absolutely fine”.”It is just normal Ben,” Bostock told BBC Look North.”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. He is very positive and is always very positive.”Stokes could return as captain for third Test against NZ