Brydon Carse removed from England squad for second Pakistan Test as Cricket Regulator investigates

Carse was released to play for Durham in the County Championship after missing out on selection in the first Test at Headingley, and celebrated their win over Derbyshire on Saturday night. On Sunday, a video emerged of him surrounded by police officers and being led away from the venue, widely reported to be Molly Malone’s Irish Tavern in Derby.

A spokesperson for the Derbyshire Constabulary told Cricinfo on Monday afternoon: “A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly in Derby city centre on Saturday night (22 August). However, the man was de-arrested shortly afterwards having agreed to leave the area.”

Carse, 31, is understood to be the man in question. His Durham team-mates Ben Stokes, who took five wickets to propel them to victory on Saturday, and Matthew Potts are also visible in the video, though there is no suggestion that either player committed an offence.

The ECB said on Sunday that it would investigate, and referred the incident to the independent Cricket Regulator. The Regulator has now confirmed that it will also investigate Carse’s behaviour, and the ECB said on Monday that Carse would be replaced in England’s squad for the second Test by Hampshire’s Sonny Baker as a result.

“Following a referral from the ECB, the Cricket Regulator have confirmed that they will investigate events on Saturday night in Derby,” the ECB said in a statement.

“Brydon Carse will no longer be available for selection for the second men’s Rothesay Test match while this investigation is ongoing and the full facts are obtained. Brydon will be replaced in the squad for this match by Sonny Baker.”

The incident is the latest in a long string of off-field episodes involving England players over the past 12 months. It comes barely a week after Joe Root confirmed that the team’s midnight curfew had been relaxed and backed his players to act like “grown adults”, and will prompt fresh questions about their behaviour and relationship with alcohol more broadly.

Harry Brook was fined and nearly lost the white-ball captaincy after he was struck by a nightclub bouncer in Wellington late last year, the night before an ODI, while stories about England players’ drinking – particularly during a mid-Ashes break to Noosa – dominated last winter’s series in Australia.

This 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. It was immediately waived by Brendon McCullum after a T20I series win over India and has since effectively been overruled by Root, who has taken over from Stokes as captain.

Carse made his Test debut in late 2024 after missing most of that summer while serving a ban for historic betting offences, having placed 303 bets on various matches between 2017-19. He did not play any of those matches, but English cricketers are banned from gambling on the sport under integrity rules.

England’s squad were due to link up in London on Monday, and will train twice at Lord’s before the second Test against Pakistan, starting on Thursday’. They are 1-0 up in the series after winning by an innings and 103 runs inside three days at Headingley.

1454 GMT – This story was updated to include the Derbyshire Constabulary’s statement.

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