NEW DELHI: England captain Ben Stokes has admitted that he apologized to his teammates after returning for the deciding third Test of the series against New Zealand cricket team. Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson missed the second Test after being investigated for allegedly breaking the team’s midnight curfew after England’s win in the opening match. While they were cleared of any violent behavior, both received written warnings for violating team rules.Speaking ahead of the third Test at Trent Bridge, Stokes said addressing the team was one of the first things he did after joining the team.“That was one of the first things I had to do as captain,” Stokes told reporters.The England skipper admitted the nightclub controversy affected more than him. He said that overshadowed an important moment for many young players who made their Test debut during the second match.“It affected Joe, it affected the team, it affected people outside the playing environment. No doubt it had an effect on the boys who had made their debut. That should have been all about them, but unfortunately a situation beyond their control took precedence over their big day of making their debut for England in Test cricket,” he added.England, led by Joe Root in Stokes’ absence, lost the second Test by 253 runs as New Zealand leveled the series 1-1.Stokes said leadership means owning mistakes and apologizing when necessary.“It would be stupid and naive for me not to recognize this and address this. It’s all well and good that everything is fine and dandy when it goes well, but you need to take responsibility for things too. If he is the one who has to take that responsibility, you must be big enough and man enough to be able to take it on your shoulders, look everyone in the eye, and apologize as you need. That’s what I did,” he said.The 34-year-old also dismissed suggestions of a rift with England coach Brendon McCullum.“You don’t think you’re going to go through something like that together in a professional environment. Brendon and I talked almost every day in the initial period.“Maybe in the future we will look back on this and let’s go, this brought us closer. This split, this drift, we certainly did not get away.”With the series tied at 1-1, Stokes said he and Atkinson are now solely focused on helping England win the final Test.“The main thing about me being back, Gus being back, is for us to focus on the main goal, which is the cricket this week.“It’s 1-1 in the series, we have a game, and the importance of the result of this game is the only thing we need to concentrate on,” he concluded.
