Tongue admits England have missed absent Stokes
Pace bowler Josh Tongue admitted England have missed absent captain Ben Stokes as they head for a heavy defeat in the second Test against New Zealand.
Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson have been made unavailable for the Test at The Oval pending an investigation into an incident in a London nightclub.
But both have been permitted to play county cricket and Stokes struck 95 for Durham against Northamptonshire on Saturday.
It is his highest score in any cricket since the century he made for England in the fourth Test against India last July.
Before the nightclub episode, England head coach Brendon McCullum had backed 35-year-old Stokes to return to form with the bat.
Speaking at the end of the fourth day of the second Test, Tongue said he was unaware of the score Stokes made for Durham.
But when asked about Stokes' return to form, Tongue replied: "Stokesy is an unbelievable player.
"I made my England debut when he was captain. I've got huge respect for Stokesy and it's always nice seeing him get some runs."
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Stokes' absence as a leader and all-rounder have been noticeable as England head for their third successive defeat in Tests at The Oval.
Chasing a fanciful and world record target of 463, the home side closed Saturday on 182-5 and probably would have been beaten inside four days had it not been for stand-in captain Joe Root's unbeaten 75.
Without Stokes to balance the team, England have been forced to pick Jordan Cox as a specialist batter at number seven and omitted spinner Shoaib Bashir.
After Ollie Robinson missed the match with an injury and Jamie Smith also sat out on paternity leave, Root was left to lead an England team including three debutants and its fewest combined caps in 17 years.
"Yeah, we've missed him," said Tongue of Stokes. "Obviously we've got a lot of leaders in our team as well.
"Rooty stepping in as captain is an unbelievable player and an unbelievable leader as well. It's been good."
Stokes and Atkinson broke England's midnight curfew celebrating the win over New Zealand in the first Test at Lord's.
The pair were present when a member of security staff was struck by a Saracens rugby player.
Both Stokes and Atkinson have been spoken to as part of the investigations and could be available for the third Test at Trent Bridge, starting on Thursday, with Stokes in line to return as captain.
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