Brendon McCullum has spoken of his anger on hearing the news that Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson broke the team curfew in a Chelsea nightclub a week ago – and repeatedly declined the chance to say whether he thought Stokes could captain England again.

On the day England revealed several changes for Wednesday’s second Test against New Zealand at The Oval – including first caps for batsman Jordan Cox and fast bowler Sonny Baker, plus a recall for Surrey seamer Matt Fisher – McCullum insisted that his main concern right now was ‘making sure Ben is fine’.

But he added: ‘When breaches happen, I think it’s important you don’t look past that. Because to me, that can ruin a culture, that can ruin a side, if you’re not prepared to be strong enough in those circumstances.’

McCullum admitted to a range of emotions after he learned that Stokes and Atkinson had visited The Rex Rooms in west London after the midnight curfew following the first-Test win over New Zealand at Lord’s.

‘When I first found out about it, I was slightly bewildered,’ he said. ‘You go from being bewildered, on to angry, on to gutted. From the progress which we talked about over the last six months and what we’re trying to do with the side – to hear about this was incredibly gutting.’

England’s head coach played down managing director Rob Key’s suggestion last week of a total ban on alcohol, saying: ‘I do believe there is a place to never want to kill the joy. I think it is vitally important that you celebrate your successes. But I don’t believe in excess, and you need always to uphold the standards.’

Asked if he could see a way back for Stokes as captain, McCullum replied: ‘Those decisions are not for now. The concern is making sure Ben is fine. We need to make sure we look after him, rally around him, and in time we’ll get on to those sorts of decisions. For me, I’m just making sure I’m checking in with him.’

McCullum also denied his relations with Stokes had become strained. ‘I don’t think it’s strained at all,’ he said. ‘Our lines of communication are very open. Four years together is a long time in a really punchy pressure cooker. But we’ve always had the best intentions of English cricket at the core of what we are trying to achieve.

‘Right now, I have a lot of respect, a lot of care for Ben, and I’m doing what I can to support him.’