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Joe Root will captain England in next week’s second Test against New Zealand after Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were left out of the squad for breaking the team curfew as they celebrated victory in the first game of the series on Sunday night.

Stokes, the team’s full-time captain, is being given some time to consider his future after he contributed to the resurfacing of the debate about what is widely perceived as an unprofessional culture within the group. He is reported to have spent Wednesday in meetings with his agent and advisers. Atkinson will also miss the game, which is being played at the Oval, the Surrey seamer’s home ground.

“The England & Wales Cricket Board can confirm that, given the ongoing investigation, Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have not been made available for selection for the second Test against New Zealand,” a statement read. “Yorkshire batter Joe Root will lead the team as interim captain.”

The absence of Stokes and Atkinson, combined with the hand injury sustained by Brydon Carse during a training session in April that means the 30-year-old has not played since the end of the Ashes in January, means England will be without three of their four leading wicket-takers over the last two years.

As a result they are very likely to bring two seamers into their team next week, likely to be Sonny Baker – who was close to being given a Test debut in the opening game of the series – and Jofra Archer, who returns to the squad after following his efforts for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League with a short break in Barbados. Surrey’s Matthew Fisher is also in the squad.

The dilemma facing Brendon McCullum, the England coach, will be whether to also bolster the batting, which would mean leaving out Shoaib Bashir. Bashir played at Lord’s but was not required to bowl, and in his only previous Test outing at the Oval, against Sri Lanka in 2024, took one wicket for 65.

Joe Root (Yorkshire) - Captain; Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire); Jofra Archer (Sussex); Sonny Baker (Hampshire); Shoaib Bashir (Derbyshire); Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire); Harry Brook (Yorkshire); Jordan Cox (Essex); Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire); Matthew Fisher (Surrey); Emilio Gay (Durham);

James Rew (Somerset); Ollie Robinson (Sussex); Jamie Smith (Surrey); Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire)

While that would leave the team without a frontline spinner both Joe Root and Jacob Bethell could contribute if required. If that is his choice Somerset’s James Rew is likely to come into the team to make his debut, having been the spare batter in the squad for the opening of the series, while Jordan Cox of Essex has been added to the group.