London, June 21 (IANS) Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have been recalled to the England squad for the series‑deciding Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, starting on Thursday, after being stood down from the recently concluded second game following a breach of team protocols.

The announcement came little more than an hour after England, fielding a depleted line‑up, were beaten by 253 runs by New Zealand at The Oval. Stokes and Atkinson had earlier been withdrawn from their respective county championship duties for Durham and Surrey, thus clearing the way for their selection after being stood down following a nightclub incident on June 8, after England secured a115-run victory at Lord’s.

The incident also involved a Saracens academy rugby player. “Stokes and Atkinson were found to have breached specific contractual obligations that require England players to at all times maintain the highest standards of conduct and act in the best interests of England cricket.

“In addition to not being considered for selection for the second Rothesay Test, they have both been given a written warning as to their conduct. It was also concluded that no blame should be attached to the players for violent conduct at the nightclub. Stokes was not involved in the altercation and did not witness either incident.

“The evidence the ECB has seen demonstrates that Atkinson was the victim of unprovoked attacks and did not retaliate on either occasion,” said the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in its statement.

Ollie Robinson, who missed out due to knee soreness, and Jamie Smith, who sat out the second Test due to paternity leave, are also in a 15-player squad for the third Test, with Sonny Baker and James Rew left out.

England squad: Ben Stokes, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith and Josh Tongue

–IANS

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