NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) — Ben Stokes refused to give assurances on his long-term future as England cricket captain after his latest disciplinary controversy, saying Wednesday his full focus was on the deciding test of the series against New Zealand.
Commenting publicly for the first time since being dropped pending an investigation into an incident at a nightclub after the first test, Stokes didn't go into details about the controversy or whether he considered giving up the captaincy — or indeed retiring.
The England all-rounder also said he didn't feel his relationship with coach Brendon McCullum had deteriorated as a result of the events of the past two weeks.
Instead, Stokes played a straight bat at most questions in a 15-minute news conference, explaining he wasn't looking beyond the third and final test against New Zealand starting Thursday at Trent Bridge.
“I’m focusing on this week,” he said. "This has been something that has happened and has obviously taken a lot of attention away from the series. But I want to make sure that my focus is where it needs to be.
“Right now, my focus is on the team, on the series. We're 1-1 in a three-match series. This week is massive for this team, regardless of what’s going on.”
Stokes and teammate Gus Atkinson went on a night out after England's win at Lord's in the first test, breaking a midnight curfew set by the team after a humiliating Ashes series when players' professionalism was questioned.
The two players were in a London nightclub when an England team security official was reportedly struck by a rugby player from English club Saracens.
The England and Wales Cricket Board said Stokes and Atkinson “breached specific contractual obligations” and were given a written warning, while the sport’s independent oversight panel — the Cricket Regulator body — said after its investigation that there was “insufficient evidence to establish that any regulatory breach occurred.”
The pair were immediately recalled to an England team reeling from a 253-run loss to the Kiwis in a one-sided second test at The Oval.
Stokes said he found it tough viewing the second test from afar and for putting Joe Root — his good friend who filled in as interim captain — in such a position.
Stokes reportedly apologized to the team on Tuesday.
“Yesterday, the important thing for me as the captain of the team was making sure that I was letting the lads know that I am back properly as the captain of this team,” he said. "I did need to, obviously, say a few things and acknowledge a few things, to the team and the team only.
“And I feel like I voiced those quite well to everyone, and I feel like I’m also letting them know where my concentration is, and it is thoroughly on what we need to do this week.”
Stokes and McCullum have been close since they took charge in 2022.
Stokes said that hasn't changed.
“We certainly haven’t drifted apart, as has been the big speculation about it,” he said. "I guess when you do go through some difficult times, you do find another side to a relationship maybe that you never thought you could have. You don’t plan on going through something like this together, in a professional environment.
“But, me and Brendon were talking pretty much every day ... maybe in the future, we look back on this and go, you know, this did bring us tighter, this did bring us closer.”
While England was slumping to defeat in the second test, Stokes was playing for Durham in the county championship.
He hit 95 at a time when his form with the bat was under scrutiny.
“Maybe,” Stokes said with a smile, “being on the front pages for the wrong reasons could be good for my cricket.”
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
England's Ben Stokes prepares for a nets session at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, ahead of the third cricket test match against New Zealand, in Nottingham, England, Wednesday June 24, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
England's Ben Stokes gestures during a nets session at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, ahead of the third cricket test match against New Zealand, in Nottingham, England, Wednesday June 24, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)
LONDON (AP) — Much of western Europe baked under a “heat dome” Wednesday as temperatures soared toward 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in places, and weather agencies warned that the extreme conditions could endanger lives across countries, many of which have limited air conditioning.
France recorded its hottest-ever day for the second day running. The Meteo France weather agency said the country's national thermal indicator — an average of temperatures measured at 30 weather stations — hit a new record of 30 C (86 F), the latest in a series of never-before-registered highs.
Meanwhile, the U.K. recorded its hottest June day, with 35.8 C (96.4 F) reported in Wiggonholt in southern England. The national weather forecaster issued a "red heat health” alert for much of central and southern England, as well as Wales. In northwest France, tens of thousands of homes sweltered after the heat knocked out electricity.
Authorities warned people to take extra care when swimming in unsupervised areas, such as rivers or lakes, following the deaths of around 40 people in France over the past week.
In the U.K., which has a reputation for being gray and drizzly even in summer, the heat was particularly uncomfortable, not least because so much of the country's infrastructure, such as buildings and transportation systems, was built for cooler weather.
The heat dome — a stationary high-pressure system that traps heat and humidity — took shape at a time when human-caused climate change fuels increasingly extreme weather. The U.N. climate agency projects that the next five years will likely shatter more heat records.
“Heat waves are becoming more frequent, longer and hotter with climate change, as a direct result of the fossil fuels we are releasing as a society,” said Hayley Fowler, a professor at the Centre for Climate and Environmental Resilience at Newcastle University in the northeast of England. “We can expect to have to cope with more and more of these types of events in the years to come.”
More than 1,000 schools in England have closed due to the heat, and many train services have been canceled, with passengers being urged to avoid nonessential travel in areas covered by the warning.
The red heat warning was only the second issued by U.K. authorities following July 2022, when temperatures exceeded 40 C (104 F) for the first time. The temperature is set to fall short of 40 C on Wednesday but could breach that level — considered almost unimaginable not long ago — on Thursday.
“Red warnings are reserved for the most severe events," said Mark Sidaway, deputy chief forecaster for the Met Office, the U.K. weather agency. He said officials expected the effects to extend "beyond those who are normally more vulnerable to the heat.”
It's been so hot that male journalists covering the U.K.’s tradition-bound Parliament were allowed to remove their jackets Wednesday in the press gallery of the House of Commons.
In France, Italy and Spain, more than 100 million people were warned to be extra vigilant about the dangers of the heat wave.
With the mercury rising, many of France's major attractions, including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre museum in Paris, have restricted visiting hours. Schools and transportation schedules were also upended.
Tens of thousands of homes in northwest France were without power after two electrical transformers in Brittany were taken out of service late Tuesday following an explosion apparently linked to the heat wave. Around 68,000 households were still affected by the power outage on Wednesday.
In Italy, 16 cities, including Rome, Milan, Florence and Turin, were under heat alerts. The “bollino rosso” signals that the risks are not restricted to the elderly.
Temperatures were predicted to climb toward 41 C (105 F) in Florence and 38 C (104 F) in Milan, while Rome and Naples were forecast to stay below 36 C (96.8 F).
In Vatican City, the faithful fanned themselves and huddled under umbrellas in St. Peter’s Square to attend Pope Leo XIV’s weekly audience.
“We did not feel any heat at all, only great love for the pope,” said Monica Ruiz, a 52-year-old pilgrim from Spain.
One remedy being touted came from soccer's World Cup, which is currently taking place in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The European Trade Union Confederation said employers should offer the same cooling breaks used at the World Cup and grant all workers paid breaks to help keep them safe in intense heat.
“Taking a break in high temperatures is a commonsense precaution, but too many employers are refusing to put these and other necessary measures in place or even discuss them with trade unions, leading to a rising number of avoidable deaths in European workplaces,” ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said.
Businesses across Europe have heeded that advice.
At a major building project spanning Paris’ busy ring road, construction workers have shifted to earlier hours. Managers at the site have introduced staggered schedules, with most workers now starting at 6 a.m. and finishing around 1 p.m.
“As soon as the sun comes out, the workers are really going to take time to take breaks every hour and cool down,” deputy site manager Travis Demarque said.
Associated Press writers Danica Kirka and Jill Lawless in London, Colleen Barry in Milan, Samuel Petrequin and Alexander Turnbull in Paris and Giada Zampano in Rome contributed to this report.
People cool off at the Piscina Romano as a heat wave is predicted across Italy, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Tourists with an umbrella take a photo in Paris, as France is enduring a grueling heat wave with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena )
A man keeps his legs dry as he cycles through standing water in London, as a heat wave is predicted Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
A drugstore sign shows the temperature 43 degrees Celsius (109,4 degrees Fahrenheit) in Rennes, western France, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)
Parisians bath in the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris, as the national weather service, Meteo France, placed 54 departments, about half the country, under a red heat wave alert, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena )
A man runs over a bridge in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Faithful shelter for the hot sun as they wait for Pope Leo's XIV weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
A faithful cools off as they wait for Pope Leo's XIV weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
