London (AFP) - Returning captain Ben Stokes insisted he had been “man enough” to apologise to his England team-mates after missing the last Test for breaching a curfew.

Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson were dropped from the second Test against New Zealand after breaking a midnight curfew in an incident at a London nightclub celebrating England’s first win in the series opener at Lord’s.

In their absence, an England team led by stand-in captain Joe Root and showing five changes – including three debutants – suffered a 253-run thrashing at the Oval as New Zealand levelled the series at 1-1 heading into the Nottingham finale at Trent Bridge starting on Thursday.

The curfew breach came following the drinking controversies that marred England’s 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia.

Both Stokes and Atkinson, issued with a written conduct warning while cleared of any wrongdoing in a physical altercation, have been restored to the England team for the series decider.

Stokes said he was “back properly” for the finale, but declined to say if he was back for good while speaking to reporters at Trent Bridge on Wednesday – his first public comment on the incident since he was omitted from the second Test.

“I hope you (the media) respect in terms of this whole week, I’m (only) focusing on this week,” he said.

“That’s where my focus is at right now… I’m here as captain of this team and all I want to do is get the team focused on winning here,” insisted Stokes, who made 95 for county side Durham last week.

“We are 1-1 in a three-match series and this week is massive for the team.”

- ‘Take responsibility’ -

Stokes, asked if he had apologised to the team when he spoke before training on Wednesday, said: “Of course. That was one of the first things I had to do as captain.

“It’s all fine, everything being fine and dandy, when it’s going well but you need to take responsibility for things as well.

“You need to be big enough and man enough to be able to take that upon your shoulders, look everyone in the eye who it’s affected and apologise how you need to apologise. That’s something I did.”

In a subsequent interview with the BBC, Stokes said the incident had led him to consider if he could continue to represent England just as a member of the team after four years as captain.

“I’m 35 now and, even before this stuff all happened, I thought, ‘Could I ever see myself playing for England and not being captain?’. It’s a question I’ve never really been able to answer,” he said.

“I love playing for England, I love being captain of this team and that’s where I’m at with everything.”

Stokes refused to be drawn on the vexed issue of whether players knew the curfew still applied the night after a match had finished, as well as during a game.

But he was more forthcoming about his relationship with head coach Brendon McCullum, saying reports of a rift with the former New Zealand captain that first surfaced during the Ashes loss were wide of the mark.

“It’s been a big misconception around me and Brendon,” said Stokes. “We are genuinely very good mates.

“We certainly haven’t drifted apart, as there’s a bit of speculation about. Not agreeing on everything shouldn’t be seen as a divide between me and Brendon.”

Stokes is set to get an enthusiastic reception in Nottingham and he acknowledged the public backing he had received during his brief international exile.

“It’s something I don’t want overlooked, the love and support I felt with all the speculation,” he said.