Stokes apologises to England teammates over night out

England captain Ben Stokes has apologised to his England teammates for the night out that sent the Test summer into turmoil, but refused to offer any guarantees over his long-term future.

Speaking for the first time since an incident that saw him and fast bowler Gus Atkinson stood down for the second Test and subsequently issued with a written conduct warning - while being cleared of any wrongdoing in a physical altercation - Stokes revealed he had said sorry to the squad, which lost heavily at The Oval in his absence.

He declared himself "back properly" for the series decider at Trent Bridge, which starts on Thursday, but declined the opportunity to say he was back for good.

"I understand there's a lot of questions that you (the media) probably want to ask and want to hear from me, but I hope you respect in terms of this whole week, I'm (only) focusing on this week," he said.

"That's where my focus is at right now. I understand there are probably some questions but right now I'm here as captain of this team and all I want to do is get the team focused on winning here. We are 1-1 in a three-mach series and this week is massive for the team."

Asked if he had apologised to the team when he addressed them before training on Wednesday, Stokes said: "Of course. That was one of the things I had to do as captain.

"It's all fine, everything being fine and dandy, when it's going well but you need to take responsibility for things as well.

"You need to be big enough and man enough to be able to take that upon your shoulders, look everyone in the eye who it's affected and apologise how you need to apologise. That's something I did."

Black Caps icon Bob Blair dies aged 94

Former New Zealand fast bowler Bob Blair, who played one of the most heroic knocks in Test cricket, has died in ‌England on his 94th birthday, New Zealand Cricket confirmed.

Blair played 19 Tests between ‌1953 and 1964, often opening the attack, and took 43 wickets at an average of ‌35.23. He is best remembered for his remarkable knock in a 1953 Test against South Africa in Johannesburg.

Playing in the second Test at Ellis Park, the 21-year-old Blair learnt in the early hours of the second morning his fiancee, Nerissa Love, ‌was one of ‌the 151 ⁠killed in the Tangiwai rail disaster on Christmas Eve.

Blair ​initially stayed back at the team hotel to grieve but strode out at the fall of New Zealand's ninth wicket to join a bloodied Bert Sutcliffe, who had earlier gone to hospital after taking numerous blows from the cricket ball while batting. The pair added ⁠33 runs for the 10th wicket before ‌Blair ​was dismissed for six.

Since 2024, Test series between New Zealand and South Africa have ​been played for ‌the Tangiwai Shield, which commemorates the 1953 tragedy.

"The story of Bob Blair and ​the Tangiwai rail disaster has left an indelible mark on cricket in both New Zealand and South Africa," NZC's interim chief executive, Graham Parks, said in ​a ​statement.

"The courage and camaraderie shown ​during the second Test in South Africa in ‌1953 and in the years that followed epitomise everything that is great about sport.

"To have been able to honour that inspirational story with the introduction of the Tangiwai Shield in 2024 was both poignant and will ensure the legacy of Bob Blair ​lives on."

New Zealand players will wear black arm bands for the first day ​of the third Test ⁠against England in Nottingham on Thursday. 

- with Reuters