England captain Joe Root says he was “hacked off” and disappointed after another incident involving a teammate at a nightclub, adding that the national team players are trying to build a culture they can be proud of.
After videos on social media appeared to show England fast bowler Brydon Carse in handcuffs being spoken to by police officers, England’s Cricket Board (ECB) dropped the 31-year-old from the second test against Pakistan, which starts on Thursday.
Carse is the latest England cricketer to be involved in a nightclub incident after Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, former captain Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson, leading to accusations of a drinking culture amongst the players.
“If I’m being brutally honest, I’m really hacked off. I’m really disappointed,” Root told reporters.
“It’s not the isolated incident itself, it’s the fact that we continually keep making stupid mistakes away from the game and it’s detracting from what we’re doing on the field.”
Root, who returned as England captain after Stokes retired from international cricket, said the players had taken the incidents seriously.
“Clearly, we’re not portraying ourselves how we want to. I think we’ve got an opportunity to build a culture that’s very strong, something we can be proud of. Of course that’s not going to happen overnight,” he added.
Brydon Carse is the latest England cricketer to be involved in an off-field incident. (Getty Images: Jason McCawley/Cricket Australia)
“We’ve already had conversations as a team about what is expected from this group of players, what it means to play for England, what it takes to play for England. They are very clear about what is expected of them, and how we need to go about things moving forward.”
Root said he had spoken to Carse, who was replaced by Sonny Baker for the second Test.
“When I first found out, my first concern was him as a person … I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn by saying he’s very upset, very apologetic and understands his actions. I’m sure when he gets his chance, he’ll say that himself,” the captain added.
Carse was briefly arrested and no charges were brought. The independent Cricket Regulator will investigate whether he breached the ECB’s code of conduct, the sport’s national governing body said on Monday.
England, who won the first test by an innings and 103 runs, will next face Pakistan at Lord’s, followed by a third test in Birmingham next month.
Reuters
By
