Brendon McCullum has moved decisively to shut down speculation of a rift with Ben Stokes, insisting England’s Test captain is in an “outstanding” frame of mind as he returns to lead the side against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.

Stokes missed the heavy defeat in the second Test after serving a one-match suspension during an investigation into a late-night incident involving team-mate Gus Atkinson and a breach of the team’s curfew. Both players have since been cleared of any misconduct charges by the Cricket Regulator, though they were found to have broken contractual obligations around team discipline.

McCullum admitted he had previously been “worried” about Stokes, but said a long conversation at Trent Bridge had completely reassured him.

“Ben’s great, I had a good catch up with him this morning,” McCullum said. “We spent a good hour and a bit talking, and he’s outstanding actually. To my assessment, he looks fantastic. He’s ready to go and excited about the week. From our point of view, it’s nice to have the band back together.”

The coach was equally firm in dismissing talk of tension between the pair, which had grown after his public comments about Stokes’ wellbeing and the fallout from the suspension.

“We talked about the reports this morning,” McCullum explained. “I said, ‘Do you know where this has come from, the conversation about our relationship the last six months?’ and he said, ‘I have no idea.’ As far as I’m concerned, I consider him a good friend. We’ve been through a lot together in leadership positions in English cricket. We both want the best for English cricket and we’re crystal clear on the direction we want this team to take.”

McCullum stressed that robust debate is part of their partnership, not a sign of division. “There’s going to be times where we discuss and debate things. We make decisions together – one will have to concede at times and vice versa. We are good friends, we work very well together.”

On the curfew breach, McCullum said standards had now been firmly reset. “You still need to be able to enjoy yourself but also be able to make good decisions at the right time. Excess is not what we’re after. When mistakes are made, we need to make sure we iron them out and move on as a team.”