The ECB has launched an investigation after a video emerged showing
England fast bowler
Brydon Carse in handcuffs, being led away from a nightclub by police in Derby on Saturday night. It is the latest embarrassing off-field episode involving an England cricketer over the past 12 months and will raise further questions about the team’s relationship with alcohol.
Carse is part of England’s squad for their first two Tests against Pakistan but was released to play in the County Championship
for Durham after missing out on the final XI. He scored 26 runs and returned match figures of 2 for 82 as Durham beat Derbyshire inside three days, and was out celebrating with team-mates when the incident occurred.
A short video of Carse circulated on social media on Sunday and was later published by the Telegraph. It shows Carse surrounded by police officers with his arms behind his back in handcuffs, speaking to his Durham team-mate Matthew Potts. Ben Stokes, England’s ex-captain, who bowled Durham to victory on Saturday, is also in the background of the video.
The ECB said on Sunday: “We are aware of an incident which is reported to have taken place in Derby last night, and are currently investigating. We will provide a further update when possible.” The Derbyshire Constabulary was contacted for comment, and Durham declined to comment.
Carse was England’s leading wicket-taker in last winter’s Ashes series but has not yet played an international match this summer. He missed the New Zealand series with wrist and elbow injuries and was a late addition to the ODI squad against India, but was named in the Test squad after proving his fitness playing for Sunrisers Leeds in the Hundred.
He was due to link back up with the Test squad in London on Monday, ahead of two training days at Lord’s leading into Thursday’s second Test against Pakistan, though his involvement could now be in some doubt.
Carse was not on international duty at the time but is a centrally-contracted player, and the timing is hugely embarrassing for the ECB. The incident will distract from England’s innings victory in the first Test
at Headingley, and means that questions about curfews and players’ relationship with alcohol will continue to be asked throughout the Test summer.
Stokes and Gus Atkinson were both suspended pending an investigation into their celebrations following England’s first Test of the summer against New Zealand, which later cleared them of any involvement in violent conduct at a nightclub but saw them given written warnings after breaching “specific contractual obligations”.
Rob Key, England’s managing director,
denied that the team were “a national embarrassment” following that incident but issued updated guidance on alcohol consumption to players, which was immediately
waived by Brendon McCullum after a T20I series win over India.
Stokes subsequently retired from international cricket and has hinted that the ECB’s handling of his night out played a role in his decision.
Speaking on a podcast this month, he denied that the England team had a drinking problem but said that “cricket has a culture that is associated with alcohol” more generally.
Since taking back over from Stokes, Joe Root’s first act of his second stint as Test captain was to
scrap England’s midnight curfew, explaining that he trusted his players to act like “grown adults” off the field. This latest incident means that he will be asked another wave of questions about team culture in the build-up to the second Test at Lord’s.
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