THE independent Cricket Regulator has taken no action against Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson over the nightclub incident which led to them missing last week’s Test against New Zealand, finding “insufficient evidence” against the pair.

The ruling, which effectively clears the England captain and his team-mate, comes after the duo were recalled for Thursday’s Rothesay Series decider against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.

A parallel investigation by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) also absolved Stokes and Atkinson of any wrongdoing in an altercation involving Saracens rugby union player Totoa Auvaa, though they were issued with written conduct warnings for contravening “specific contractual obligations.”

The regulator, which does not cover team protocols in its remit, said in a statement: “The Cricket Regulator’s role is to determine whether any participant or player has breached any applicable ECB Cricket Regulations. The investigation followed multiple lines of enquiry to gather and assess evidence in relation to the events in question.

“Having carefully reviewed all currently available information, the Cricket Regulator has determined that there is insufficient evidence to establish that any regulatory breach occurred. Accordingly, no further action will be taken against either player.

“The Cricket Regulator would like to thank all those involved for their co-operation throughout the investigation.”

Stokes and Atkinson were both interviewed by the regulator, which is headed up by director Chris Haward, a former national chief constable lead for serious and organised crime. They subsequently returned to county cricket, Stokes with Durham and Atkinson with Surrey, before being withdrawn by the ECB ahead of their Test recalls.

They are due to join the squad in Nottingham on Monday before a training session at Trent Bridge on Tuesday. Stokes is due to hold his captain’s press conference on Wednesday, his first public words on the matter barring a short Instagram post wishing his team well in the Oval Test they went on to lose by 253 runs.

The ECB probe into the late-night trip to the Rex Rooms in Chelsea determined that Atkinson had been subject to two “unprovoked attacks” that he did not retaliate to. Stokes, meanwhile, was found not to be present at the time.

The question of whether or not the pair knew they were in breach of a team curfew continues to linger. Rob Key, the ECB’s managing director of men’s cricket, has said the relevant information was shared with the Team England Player Partnership, but head coach Brendon McCullum accepted on Sunday an element of “ambiguity” may have existed.

Speaking on his For the Love of Cricket podcast, former England bowler Stuart Broad said: “It feels like a lot of hullabaloo for ‘let’s just crack on.’

“Chaos … shambles … it cost England a Test match, for what? I’m not overly sure.”