England head coach Brendon McCullum confirmed that captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson were left out of the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval after breaching a team midnight curfew. McCullum described moving from bewilderment and anger to concern for Stokes' well-being and stated that captaincy decisions would be addressed later. The ECB had introduced the curfew following earlier reports of players drinking during the Ashes series.