Ben Stokes's return as England captain for this week's third Test against New Zealand has been rubber-stamped by the Cricket Regulator*, which has determined that no further action will be taken against either Stokes or Gus Atkinson, following an incident in a Chelsea nightclub two weeks ago.
The findings of the independent investigation were published on Monday afternoon, 24 hours after England's 253-run defeat in the second Test at The Oval. By then, however, Stokes and Atkinson had already been recalled to a 15-man squad for the series decider, which begins at Trent Bridge on Thursday, having been pulled out of their ongoing County Championship matches earlier on Sunday.
Speaking to the reporters after the Oval Test, McCullum said: "Firstly Ben will be back, we'll name the squad this afternoon. Ben will be back and be captain. Everyone is excited about that."
Stokes and Atkinson were unavailable for selection at The Oval after breaking the team curfew following victory in the first Test, which led to an incident at a Chelsea nightclub in which an ECB security liaison was struck. They were allowed to play for their counties while investigations by the Cricket Regulator and the ECB were concluded.
In a statement accompanying its verdict, the Cricket Regulator said: "The investigation followed multiple lines of enquiry to gather and assess evidence in relation to the events in question.
"Having carefully reviewed all currently available information, the Cricket Regulator has determined that there is insufficient evidence to establish that any regulatory breach occurred. Accordingly, no further action will be taken against either player."
It had emerged at the start of the second Test that Stokes' return was likely, and as captain, relieving Joe Root, who has acted as interim in a tough week on and off the field. A squad for the third Test followed on Sunday afternoon, with Atkinson and Stokes recalled in place of Sonny Baker and James Rew in a 15-man squad. England are due to train at Trent Bridge from Tuesday ahead of the Thursday start.
Stokes struck 95 for Durham against Northamptonshire on Saturday, as England were tumbling to 182 for 5 at The Oval in pursuit of a target of 463. He also took 1 for 80 from 25 overs in the first innings. Atkinson managed 4 for 61 against Glamorgan for Surrey. Both were pulled out ahead of day three of their matches, with Colin Ackermann (Stokes) and Tom Lawes (Atkinson) replacing them.
In the build-up to the second Test, McCullum had repeatedly said he was "worried" about Stokes' wellbeing, following reports that the allrounder could retire from cricket altogether. However, Tim Bostock, Durham's chief executive, said he was "bemused by some of the comments about his state of mind", saying Stokes was "absolutely fine".
Asked about that differing assessment on Sky Sports, McCullum said: "People will always have difference of opinion, that's the way things are. People read things differently. I've been speaking to Ben every day since we had the incident, obviously trying to be supportive. I think it's great he was able to play this week and get some runs, and hopefully rediscover some of that form. We know that a fit and firing, and performing at optimum level, Ben Stokes is an asset that every team would like.
"Those conversations with Stokesy, they're private, I won't go into those at all. But people can assess their view of things differently. But I care about Ben and am pleased that he was able to get some game time [for Durham] and a bit of pep in his step as well."
Questioned about their captain-coach relationship, and the tone taken by England's management after the ECB announced it was investigating Stokes and Atkinson, McCullum reiterated that it was important to allow the disciplinary process to play out but said he had not wavered in his support for Stokes as a person.
"I think I answered that leading into the Test match," he said. "You've got to separate the actions from the man, so I was disappointed in the actions and us not meeting the standards which we set for ourselves, but then you support the man, and I've always firmly believed in that, and in Stokes's case, that's no different. I think we have the same vision for what we're trying to achieve with English cricket, which is to be a team which is long term, sustainably successful, and if we're able to continue to push towards that, then hopefully we'll achieve it.
"You had to go through a process, you had to wait for what the regulator came out with. It's an internal disciplinary process, which we needed to go through as well. Until you have that information, then no one's ever going to be able to make any decisions, and that's just a formal process that needs to go through. I think we've always backed [Stokes], and I talked extensively about over the last four years, we've worked collaboratively together for the betterment of English cricket, and we've always had the same vision and goal at hand, and that hasn't changed. It's just there's a process that was needed to go through. Until you have that information, then you can't emphatically make any statements publicly."
England had made five changes for the second Test, with Jamie Smith (paternity leave) and Ollie Robinson (right knee issue) among those missing out. With Smith set to return as wicketkeeper, and Robinson seemingly back at 100% on the practice wickets during the second Test, the hosts could well make five changes again for what is now a decider at Trent Bridge.
"I'm looking forward to next week," McCullum said. "It'd be nice to have the opportunity to try and close out a series win against the very good New Zealand side. If we're able to do that, then I think it'd be a mighty achievement, particularly after the last week or so, which has been very difficult on a number of people."
*1420 BST, June 22 - This story was updated following the verdict from the Cricket Regulator
