Durham hit back at England over Ben Stokes mental health comments

It was a day of toil in the field but Ben Stokes looked like there was nowhere he would rather be as Durham took the opportunity to rally around their under-fire star.

As Durham’s chief executive hit back at suggestions Stokes had struggled to deal with the fallout from his England suspension for breaking a curfew, the veteran all-rounder returned to his safe space.

“This is a difficult situation,” said Tim Bostock in a surprisingly forthright response to Stokes’s predicament. “It sounds like common sense is prevailing. We are happy to have Ben here but not under these circumstances. He should be playing for England. But hopefully [he] will be back captaining next week playing for England.

“If you have a little bit of time to think things through rather than rushing to conclusions we would be in a different space. A lot has been said around what happened at the end of the Ashes. That has raised the temperature when it quite frankly didn’t need to be raised.

“They have a process to go through. There is always a process. Whilst they were finding out what did happen, or didn’t happen, or what the rules of the curfew were, that is probably the only decision they could have made at that moment in time.

“I like to think common sense would prevail and he will be back next week doing what he does best. I don’t think there is a cricket fan who doesn’t want Ben Stokes leading England.”

Both Brendon McCullum and Rob Key had voiced their concerns about Stokes’s mental health during the fallout from that night in London. Some even suggested Stokes could retire as he wrestled with his demons.

It was a view Bostock refuted. “All of his mates are here,” he added. “We have a very sensible group. It is just normal Ben. He is here all of the time. We don’t see any different.

“I was a bit bemused by some of the comments about his state of mind. Maybe in the first 24 hours when this exploded, I am sure he was thinking ‘what has happened here?’. He has been absolutely fine.”

Throughout his many ups and downs, whether it was at the height of his fame or when he has been at his lowest ebb, playing for Durham has always meant a huge amount to Stokes.

The dressing room is full of his friends and he has never been one for airs and graces when he returns, whether it is to train or play.

In the stands watching alongside a few hundred other spectators was Scott Borthwick, now a player-coach at Durham, his closest friend. Neil Killeen, another former team-mate at Durham, who is now England fast-bowling coach, was also in attendance. This felt like a day for everyone to rally around their tarnished star. His name was cheered by the crowd when it was read out and again every time he came on to bowl.

The club that developed and nurtured a brash, cocky teenager from Cumbria and propelled him into a stellar international career, welcomed him home.

He may be one of the most famous cricketers in the world, but after days of intense criticism and speculation – about his future as England captain and even as an international player – Stokes looked like someone pleased just to have the whites on again.

When reports surfaced that he had broken the England curfew with an ill-advised late-night drinking session in London (his drinking partner that night, Gus Atkinson, picked up two wickets for Surrey on Friday), Stokes immediately returned to the new home he had built at Wynyard, a short drive from Chester-le-Street. He has been training with Durham ever since.

Stokes did not expect to be playing against Northamptonshire in a Division Two game while England struggled to stay in the second Test against New Zealand but he looked content. He looked like one of the boys.

With cameras snapping, the 35-year-old jogged down the pavilion steps and took his place in the team huddle smiling and laughing. The smile faded as Northants piled on the runs – Durham dropped five catches – but the most important thing was Stokes showed no sign of injury or fatigue.

He should have had a wicket with the fourth ball of his first over, Ricardo Vasconcelos dropped by Ben McKinney at leg slip when he had scored only 13. He should have had another wicket in his final over before lunch, when Luke Proctor looked palpably lbw but, to Stokes’s dismay the umpire did not raise his finger.

It was hard work after that. Stokes bent his back, trying to rough up batsmen well settled at the crease. It was a gruelling day in the dirt but, as he always does, Stokes mucked in and finally got his reward with the wicket of George Bartlett late on, caught in the slips

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