Two days out from the ENG vs PAK 2nd Test, Joe Root, in a press conference, cut a figure akin to a father who’s running out of patience and temperament with his children’s shenanigans as the England captain spoke of his disappointment with Brydon Carse’s bar incident.
Root called out the “stupid mistakes” committed by the England players in alcohol-related incidents over the past 12 months.
Since the winter tour of New Zealand last year, a few England cricketers have been reprimanded for their late-night activities that have brought the England team and the ECB under scrutiny over its methods. These players have included senior and important figures of the team such as Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, and Ben Stokes.
The latest is the brief arrest of fast bowler Carse. On Saturday night, Carse was briefly arrested by police on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly outside a bar in Derby. Carse was celebrating his county team Durham’s victory over Derbyshire.
A video went viral on social media in which the police handcuffed Carse and escorted him away from the Molly Malone’s Irish Tavern bar in Derby. He was de-arrested after agreeing to leave the venue.
Stokes, who also featured for Durham in that game, and teammate fast bowler Matthew Potts are also visible in the viral video.
The ECB then released a statement confirming that Saturday night’s incident involving Carse is being investigated by the Cricket Regulator. Another statement from the board announced that Carse has been withdrawn from the England squad for the 2nd Test against Pakistan, which begins on Thursday at Lord’s.
If I’m being brutally honest, I’m really hacked off: Joe Root lamented Brydon Carse’s bar incident
Joe Root spoke heavily on both Carse and the England team’s culture. The 35-year-old who was reinstated as the captain after four years had earlier abolished the midnight curfew that had been in place in the Stokes-McCullum regime.
Root said he has been left “disappointed” by another incident that puts the England team under bad light.
“If I’m being brutally honest, I’m really hacked off. I’m really disappointed that after last week’s performance, we sat here, and we’re talking about something nothing related to it at all,” Root said.
“I’ve spoken to Brydon…You obviously develop personal relationships with players, and 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 will say that himself.”
Earlier in the summer, Stokes and Gus Atkinson were suspended for a Test match against New Zealand for a reported late-night scuffle in a Chelsea nightclub. Last year, it was Brook in New Zealand and Duckett in Noosa during the Ashes who were under fire for their indecency.
Joe Root expressed frustrations over such repeated events:
“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.”
“What I will say is that actually, we have an opportunity moving forward. Clearly, we’re not portraying ourselves how we want to, and I think we’ve got an opportunity to build a culture that’s very strong, something that we can be proud of, that’s player-driven.”
England won the first Test of the three-Test ENG vs PAK series in Leeds by an innings. The second Test at Lord’s will kick off on August 27. Carse, who has been replaced with Sonny Baker in the squad, didn’t feature in the XI in Leeds.
England are expected to remain unchanged, while Pakistan are positive that Babar Azam will return to the side after missing the first Test due to a finger injury.
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