Brendon McCullum Confident Ben Stokes Will Return for Third Test

England head coach Brendon McCullum says he can work with Ben Stokes when the captain returns for the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.

Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson were made unavailable for the huge second-Test defeat pending an investigation into an incident in a London nightclub.

Following a 4-1 Ashes series defeat that was dogged by off-field problems, both Stokes and McCullum denied their relationship had deteriorated in Australia.

Then, following England's win in the first Test since the Ashes - against New Zealand at Lord's - Stokes broke the team's midnight curfew in celebrating the victory.

The results of the investigation are still to be confirmed, but McCullum told BBC Test Match Special he is expecting Stokes and Atkinson to be available in Nottingham, with Stokes resuming the captaincy.

On his relationship with the captain, McCullum said: "You're just trying to make sure you're very communicative right throughout.

"We all got the same ambition, which is to make English cricket a very good team and to try to achieve results on the field, and that hasn't changed."

McCullum said he has spoken to Stokes "every day" since the nightclub incident, which occurred in the early hours of Monday, 8 June.

The New Zealander also confirmed England director of cricket Rob Key has visited Stokes this week.

Stokes returned to action for Durham against Northamptonshire in the County Championship and on Saturday struck 95, his highest score in any cricket since last July.

But Stokes and Atkinson, who was playing for Surrey at Glamorgan, were withdrawn from their matches on Sunday in order to be ready to play in the third Test, beginning on Thursday.

"We're anticipating they will be available for selection," said McCullum. "It's a quick turnaround to the next one and we have those decisions and discussions to have.

"I would anticipate they will be in that squad, yes."

On Stokes resuming the captaincy, a position he has held since 2022, McCullum added: "Yeah, I would assume so. That is what we're looking at at the moment.

"It is what it is. The process is under way and once we get to Trent Bridge our focus will be on making sure we're able to get a collective unit together, to drill down on our tactics and execute better than what we have in this Test."