'We are good friends' - Brendon McCullum opens up on working relations with returning England captain Ben Stokes

Head coach Brendon McCullum talked positively about his working relationship with England captain Ben Stokes ahead of their third Test match against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, commencing on June 25. This comes following the all-rounder's comeback to the playing XI after the nightclub incident, which saw him and Gus Atkinson miss the second Test with the Cricket Regulator investigating the incident. 

The investigations came out clean, with the pair getting no further punishments and thus returning to the side for England's must-win game against the Black Caps. Amongst all the off-field chaos, there have been reports circulating in the media about Stokes and McCullum's tarnished relationship, stemming from the winter's Ashes, where they lost 4-1. The New Zealand coach, however, came out and denied the rumours, claiming he remains close to Stokes following a chat with him about the matter. 

"He's enthusiastic about the week. Obviously from our [McCullum and Stokes] point of view, it's nice to have the band back together. I said 'do you know where this has come from, the conversations around our relationship over the last six months?' He said 'no, I have no idea'. I said to him, 'as far I'm concerned, I consider you a good friend'. Obviously, we've been through a lot together as a working pair in leadership positions here in English cricket. In the end, we both want what's right and what is the best for English cricket," Brendon McCullum said in the pre-match press conference. 

McCullum clarified how he and Stokes are determined to take English cricket to new heights. It is obvious in a working environment where one party has to concede and work on the betterment of the side. He also took pride in how close the entire team is as they reunite for the third Test. 

"We're crystal clear on the direction we want this team to take. There are going to be times when we discuss things and debate things. We've said all the way along we've always ended up making decisions together and one will have to concede at times, and vice versa on occasions. We are good friends, we work very together. It's been a real privilege for me over the past four years to work in intimate detail and as a partnership alongside Ben. I look back on that fondly about how tight we were as a group and how tight we were as a pair. Anything outside of that, it's not really up to us. Ben and I are tight," he added.  

According to Cricinfo, Stokes' relationship with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has taken a hit amid the broken curfew following the Three Lions' victory in the first Test match. The 35-year-old was not overly impressed by the management's hurried decisions to carry out an investigation and suspend him and Atkinson for the second Test without knowing the true details of the incident.