England’s Joe Root. File photo: Action Images via Reuters
Joe Root expressed his frustration that a winning return as England Test captain has been overshadowed by another off-field incident that saw Brydon Carse dropped for the second Test against Pakistan.
Carse has been referred to the Cricket Regulator after videos on social media appeared to show the fast bowler being led away by police in handcuffs following an incident at a nightclub in Derby on Saturday (August 22, 2026).
It is the latest in a series of alcohol-fuelled controversies that have dogged England since a disastrous tour of New Zealand and Australia at the end of last year.
White-ball captain Harry Brook was involved in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer in Wellington and videos circulated of opener Ben Duckett appearing drunk on a night out during the 4-1 Ashes series thrashing by Australia.
In June, former captain Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were given a written warning and stood down from the second Test against New Zealand after an incident at a London nightclub which came after they broke a curfew.
Stokes announced his shock retirement from international cricket during the third Test a few days later, paving the way for Root to return for a second spell as red-ball captain.
England thrashed Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs inside three days of his first match back in charge last week.
“If I’m being brutally honest, I’m really hacked off. I’m really disappointed that, after last week’s performance, we’re sat here and we’re talking about something that is not related to it at all,” Root told a press conference on Tuesday (August 25, 2026).
“It’s not the isolated incident itself, it’s the fact we continuously keep making stupid mistakes away from the game and it’s detracting from what we are doing on the field.”
A curfew on players going out was introduced in January following the troubled tour to Down Under.
Bigger than curfews
However, Root has said he will not impose a curfew as he does not believe it is a productive way to change the culture around the England squad.
“I still don’t believe that’s the way to go. It’s important we create something bigger than that, it’s about having something long lasting that we can be proud of,” added the 35-year-old.
“Clearly we are not portraying ourselves how we want to and I think we have an opportunity to build a culture that is very strong, that we can be proud of, that is player driven and of course that isn’t going to happen overnight.
“We have already had conversations as a team on what is expected from this group of players, what it means to play for England, what it takes to play for England.
“We want to create something that we can be proud of, that people who follow us can be proud of.”
Carse was not selected for the first Test and has been withdrawn from the squad for the second Test, which begins at Lord’s on Thursday (August 27, 2026).
Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes an example has to be made to draw a line in the sand and improve off-field behaviour going forward.
“Someone is going to have to get a punishment that sends a shiver down the whole England cricket team and right down through the programme, so that everyone knows that if you misbehave or bring any kind of bad reputation onto this team, you know what’s going to come,” Vaughan told the BBC.
“It’s the only punishment that will really hurt players.”
Published – August 27, 2026 04:03 am IST
