ENG vs NZ: Brendon McCullum breaks his silence on the nightclub incident after Ben Stokes dropped out

The England team is currently mired in controversy. Following their victory in the first Test against New Zealand, 'Three Lions' captain Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were involved in an altercation with a rugby player, raising fresh questions about the team's discipline. The ECB has temporarily dropped Atkinson and Stokes from the series, bringing in Jofra Archer and Jordan Cox as replacements.

Cricketers around the world have been weighing in on the nightclub incident; recently, former New Zealand skipper and current England head coach Brendon McCullum broke his silence on the matter, stating that he supports his players celebrating success—provided they do not go overboard. He wants his players to make more responsible decisions without "killing the joy."

Brendon McCullum addressed the media two days before the second Test match against New Zealand at The Oval. He expressed his displeasure with the instances, emphasising that he was unable to make every decision for the players. 

"I guess fundamentally I'm in charge of the environment and I take responsibility for things which don't work out," McCullum said. "What you can't do is you can't make every single decision for people as well. My job is to try and shape this environment, (it) is to try and shape these young men who are dealing with the high pressure and high scrutiny of playing international cricket on the largest stage and being away from home twelve months of the year and the challenges that come with that." 

"Some of my most enjoyable moments have been sitting around after going to war with your teammates and sitting around in the dressing room and looking them in the eye and realising that you've left it all out there and you enjoy those celebrations," McCullum said. "I don't believe in excess. I think excess is a dangerous situation. You need to always uphold the standards and make sure we're trying to live by those.

He confessed that he is concerned about England's skipper Ben Stokes' welfare after the England skipper was left off the team for the second Test match against New Zealand. 

"Our concern is with Ben, our concern is handling that situation, making sure we look after him, that he feels supported by us and in communication with us," he said.

"Those other things will work out down the line. Very quickly, through talking to Ben and also Gus, my overall emotion turned to worry and concern, for Ben in particular," McCullum said.