Rain hung over The Kia Oval as England prepared to resume their three-Test series against New Zealand, but the real storm has been brewing off the field.

England lead 1-0 after a 115-run victory at Lord’s, yet arrive in south London with a reshaped side, a stand-in captain and a disciplinary saga still echoing around the dressing room.

Joe Root, restored to the captaincy on a game-by-game basis, fronts a team showing five changes from Lord’s and featuring three debutants. Somerset wicketkeeper James Rew is joined by fast bowler Sonny Baker and batter Jordan Cox, underlining the rapid churn of personnel in the Brendon McCullum era. Their inclusion takes the number of players blooded under the head coach to 20 in 46 Tests.

Rew replaces Jamie Smith, who is absent for the birth of his second child, while Cox and Baker come in for Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson after the pair breached a team curfew during the celebrations that followed the Lord’s win. Jofra Archer and Matthew Fisher also return, adding pace but not experience to an already raw attack.

Former seamer Chris Woakes believes conditions could suit that seam-heavy line-up, noting a green tinge to the surface and lingering moisture from the morning showers. With clearer weather forecast for the following days, he suggested bowling first would be the bold option.

Yet selection and tactics have been overshadowed by the fallout from the Stokes-Atkinson incident. England’s hierarchy, led by managing director Rob Key, opted to remove Stokes from this Test and hand Root the armband rather than promote vice-captain Harry Brook, a move former bowler Stuart Broad described as “clever” in avoiding further distraction.

Michael Atherton, another former captain, called the past week “chaotic” and warned that players now have “no wriggle room” on discipline after new curfew measures were introduced. He does not see the breach as a resignation issue but accepts that Stokes’ long-term future as captain will depend on his state of mind and the outcome of ongoing investigations.

For now, Root is the steadying presence, the last survivor of the first so-called Bazball side and once again the figurehead of an England team trying to move on from controversy. As the covers are peeled back and the clouds begin to lift, his task is clear: turn a turbulent week into another step forward on the field.