Absent England captain Stokes shines for Durham

LONDON, June 20 : England's slide towards likely defeat by New Zealand in the second test happened as absent captain Ben Stokes was scoring 95 for his county side Durham on Saturday.

Stokes, England's test captain since 2022, was left out of the side pending an ECB investigation into an incident in a London nightclub after the first-test victory at Lord's.

The all-rounder has been missed by England at The Oval where they ended day four on 182-5 chasing what would be a record 463.

No decision has been announced as to whether Stokes, 35, will return, as captain or just a member of the team, for the third test at Trent Bridge next week.

The ECB are reported to be waiting for a report from the Cricket Regulator into Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson who broke the team curfew after the 115-run win in the opener.

Joe Root has deputised as skipper in the absence of Stokes.