Ben Stokes vowed the England team would support Jofra Archer after the bowler's coronavirus breach saw him excluded for the second Test against West Indies.
Archer, one of the heroes of England's Cricket World Cup triumph last July, made an unauthorised trip home between the first and second Tests to see an unnamed person, breaking the protocols put in place for the games at bio-secure arenas.
England announced Archer would need to self-isolate for five days and could therefore not take his place in the XI when the second Test began at Old Trafford on Thursday.
The team's managing director Ashley Giles claimed "it could have been a disaster" that cost the England and Wales Cricket Board "tens of millions of pounds" as international cricket adjusts amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yet Stokes - himself no stranger to attracting headlines away from the field following a fight in Bristol in 2017 - stressed Archer will not be hung out to dry by the squad.
"I think from us as players and as England Cricket group, this is a time where our way of operating really needs to come through," said Stokes, who was later cleared of affray following the incident in Bristol.
"We really need to be there to support Jofra right now because obviously he's a big talking point.
"Obviously he is by himself because of everything else going on at the moment but it's making sure he doesn't feel like he's by himself. The worst thing we can do right now as a team is to just sort of leave him and see him in five or six days' time and then say, 'Alright'.
"Times like these for people are very, very tough and you can feel like you are all by yourself but I don't think anybody is going to allow that to happen.
"Jofra is a massive part of this group, as everybody is. If it was anybody else bar Jofra it would be the exact same way of handling it that we would do as a team.
"It's all good being there for people when things are going well but what really comes through is how you operate with someone when they need you the most."
Stokes was once again instrumental on the second day at Old Trafford, scoring 176 - his 10th Test century - as England made 469-9 declared before having West Indies 32-1 in the 14 overs before stumps.
The all-rounder made 260 alongside opener Dom Sibley, whose patient 120 might have silenced some critics following his struggles in Southampton, where he was out for a duck but went on to make a second-innings half-century.
"It's great signs for us going forward that all the noise around him after Southampton literally hasn't affected him whatsoever," Stokes added.
"It's a great way to respond to any criticism that there was by going out and banging 100."
