England captain Ben Stokes and teammate Gus Atkinson were dropped Wednesday from the squad for next week’s second test against New Zealand while they are under investigation following an incident in a nightclub that has brought further embarrassment to English cricket.
The England and Wales Cricket Board are looking into what it described as “a breach of team protocols” when Stokes and Atkinson were on a night out — following the victory over New Zealand in the first test at Lord’s on Sunday — during which a member of England’s security staff was reportedly struck by a rugby player from English club Saracens.
The saga has heaped more scrutiny on the professionalism and culture around England’s test team following a humiliating Ashes tour, after which a midnight curfew was reportedly imposed on England’s players and staff.
“The England & Wales Cricket Board can confirm that, given the ongoing investigation, Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have not been made available for selection,” the governing body said in a statement.
With the 35-year-old Stokes unavailable, Joe Root — England's previous captain — will lead the team at The Oval for the match that starts June 17.
Root’s nomination as captain seemed to be a delicate choice.
That's because Stokes' vice captain is Harry Brook, who himself was involved in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer in Wellington, New Zealand, before the Ashes tour. Brook was fined and given a final warning over his future conduct, but held on to his role as skipper of the country’s ODI and T20 sides.
Root, who resigned as captain in 2022 and was replaced by Stokes after a record 64 tests in charge, is England’s record test run scorer and second all time with 13,952, a haul that contains 41 centuries.
Stokes is reportedly considering his future as captain in the wake of the incident in the early hours of Monday that has further stained the reputation of the ECB. English cricket was looking to rebuild from the Ashes and show it had learnt lessons from that controversial tour, which was marred by accusations of unprofessionalism and excessive drinking.
The New Zealand-born Stokes is, for many, the face of English cricket after 121 tests and for being a key member of the country’s 50-over and T20 World Cup-winning teams from 2019 and 2022, respectively.
His form, especially with the bat, has dipped over the past couple of years.
Indeed, against New Zealand at Lord’s, Stokes dropped down the batting order to No. 7 and made scores of 12 and 0 — albeit on a very challenging pitch.
Although Stokes was close to his best in terms of bowling during the Ashes series, taking 5-23 in a brilliant spell during Australia’s first innings of the first test, his batting standards have slipped.
Stokes hit his 14th test century last July against India but found himself bogged down against Australia, caught between attacking and defending, and ground out only two fifties in that series and made six scores below 10.
AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire contributed to this story
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
England's Ben Stokes reacts as he leaves the field after their win in the Test match against New Zealand at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
England's Gus Atkinson, right, celebrates with captain Ben Stokes after bowling out New Zealand's Matt Henry to win the Test match between England and New Zealand at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — An armed gang opened fire in a poor neighborhood in South Africa’s biggest city, killing 12 people and wounding at least nine, before fleeing in a minibus, police said Wednesday.
The mass shooting unfolded late Tuesday night in an informal settlement in Johannesburg's Cleveland suburb, police said. At least 10 attackers participated in the killings.
Organized crime gangs have long vied for control of illegal mining and other activities in Johannesburg. Police did not provide a motive, saying the shooting is under investigation.
Police said in a statement that the shooters “moved through the area, opening fire on residents and community members at multiple locations before fleeing the scene.”
Nine men and three women were killed, according to police. Eleven died at the scene and one died in a hospital.
Police are searching for the suspects and their vehicle but no arrests have been made.
The provincial police commissioner, Tommy Mthombeni, called the killings “insane, heartless and, to a certain extent, barbaric.” Mthombeni said it was too early to link the violence to illegal mining gangs but that police were investigating. He said police confiscated illegal firearms, including assault rifles, in a recent operation in the area and that illegal miners were known to operate there.
Ambulances were on the scene on Wednesday morning to carry away the victims' bodies while community members huddled in groups on the streets. Some of them said their homes had been struck by bullets.
Resident Nkosinathi Phatha said his uncle was among those who were killed.
“I was sleeping at home with my daughter, but we all woke up when the gunshots started going off," Phatha said. “I’m still shaking even now, my young girl is still traumatized.”
Informal settlements are common in and around big cities in South Africa, where people looking for permanent housing live in shacks and other makeshift structures. Illegal miners sometimes operate in the same areas.
Residents said the settlement had a problem with illegal miners and that police rarely help.
“This area is not safe ... The police are not doing anything about it, and we will get into trouble if we start taking the law into our own hands,” said Phatha.
The government of Africa’s biggest economy deployed the army to high-risk areas — including in and around Johannesburg — in March to clamp down on illegal mines run by criminal syndicates and other organized crime. The yearlong operation has been decried by opposition lawmakers and crime analysts as an admission that police are losing the battle against organized crime.
South Africa has extremely high violent crime rates, with the country recording more than 23,000 killings in the last financial year, according to official crime statistics, an average of more than 60 a day.
Jack Bloom, a local politician, said there had been crime and murders in the area before, but this shooting was different and appeared to be related to criminal gangs.
“This was basically a massacre. It’s horrifying,” Bloom said.
South Africa has been hit by several recent high-profile mass shootings, including two in December that left more than 20 people dead. One of those attacks also involved multiple shooters.
Violent gangs are involved in illicit mining in and around Johannesburg, which has large gold reserves and many abandoned mines. The gangs search the abandoned mines for leftover gold deposits, which they sometimes store in hideouts in the informal settlements. Rival gangs also fight turf wars or use violence against communities to establish control in those areas.
Local council member Neuren Pietersen confirmed that illegal mining gangs have ties to Cleveland but said other problems exist in the suburb, such as tension over land, and that he is not sure those gangs were responsible for the latest killings.
“There are a lot of moving parts here so it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what is driving the issues,” Pietersen said in an interview with eNCA TV station.
Acting national police commissioner Puleng Dimpane said in a statement that forensic investigators and tactical response teams have been deployed to the scene. Tracing the white minibus is a priority, Dimpane said.
Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa. Associated Press writer Michelle Gumede in Johannesburg contributed.
AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
People sit outside a cordon, at the scene of a mass shooting at an informal settlement in the Cleveland suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Police officers carry stretchers after a mass shooting at an informal settlement in the Cleveland suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Police officers carry the body of a person on a stretcher after a mass shooting at an informal settlement in the Cleveland suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Police officers carry the body of a person on a stretcher after a mass shooting at an informal settlement in the Cleveland suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
