England coach Brendon McCullum said his emotions shifted from angry to 'worried' after captain Ben Stokes was revealed to have broken the team's curfew last week.
Stokes and Gus Atkinson have been dropped from the England squad for the second Test against New Zealand after the pair breached curfew after their win at Lord's, with former captain Joe Root stepping back into the role on a temporary basis.
Speaking ahead of the Oval Test, McCullum said: "When I first found out, I was slightly bewildered, if I am being honest. You go through a range of emotions from bewildered to angry to kind of gutted after the progress we had discussed over the last six months, and some of the improvements we were trying to make which includes the standards we want to set for ourselves. To hear about this was incredibly gutting, I guess.
"Very quickly through talking to Ben, and also Gus, my overall emotion turned to worry and concern for Ben in particular. Since then it has been about how we support these guys, without overlooking the fact that they have not lived up to the standards we have set for ourselves. We’ll deal with that in time through a process. For me, it is very much how we support these guys, and especially Ben."
England have made concerted efforts to improve the team culture regarding off-field behaviour, but McCullum is unwilling to make a call on Stokes's future as captain at this stage.
"I’ve seen Ben be an unbelievable captain," McCullum said. "He’s helped shape this environment over the last four years and had some incredible success doing it. What will be will be down the line. Those decisions are not for now. The concern for now is making sure that Ben is fine. We need to look after him and rally round him."
