ENGLAND captain Ben Stokes has apologised to his team-mates for the night out that sent the Test summer into turmoil, but refused to offer any guarantees over his long-term future.

Speaking for the first time since an incident that saw him and fast bowler Gus Atkinson issued with a written conduct warning — while being cleared of any wrongdoing in a physical altercation – Stokes revealed he had said sorry to the squad, which lost heavily at the Oval in his absence.

He declared himself “back properly” for the series decider at Trent Bridge, which starts on Thursday, but declined the opportunity to say he was back for good.

“I understand there’s a lot of questions that you [the media] probably want to ask and want to hear from me, but I hope you respect in terms of this whole week, I’m [only] focusing on this week,” he said.

“I’m here as captain of this team and all I want to do is get the team focused on winning here. We are 1-1 in a three-match series and this week is massive for the team.”

In a subsequent interview with the BBC’s Test Match Special, Stokes admitted the saga had forced him to ponder whether he would be willing to return to the ranks after four years leading the side.

“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.”

Asked if he had apologised to the team when he addressed them before training yesterday, Stokes said: “Of course. That was one of the things I had to do as captain.

“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.”

Stokes was guarded when it came to the investigation itself, and did not weigh in on the disputed matter of the midnight curfew.

He did, though, speak up for his relationship with head coach Brendon McCullum. Suggestions of a growing rift between the pair have been rife since the Ashes defeat over the winter but Stokes echoed the New Zealander in defending their bond.

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

“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. You are allowed to have discussions, you are allowed to have disagreements.”