Joe Rooton Tuesday made his frustration clear after Brydon Carse became the latest player to get embroiled in an off-field incident, admitting that the repeated distractions are becoming increasingly difficult for the team to ignore. The England Test captain spoke to the media two days prior to the start of the second Test against Pakistan at Lord’s, addressing the removal of the pacer from the squad following his late-night incident in Derby.
Carse was seen in handcuffs after celebrating Durham’s victory over Derbyshire and was subsequently released, with the Cricket Regulator now examining the circumstances. He was filmed in handcuffs outside a bar on Saturday night. Police later confirmed that the fast bowler had been detained on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly before being released without further action at that stage.
Root revealed that he had spoken directly to Carse following the incident and described the seamer as upset and apologetic.
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“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 that has nothing to do with it at all. In terms of the incident itself, it’s obviously with the Regulator. There’s not a lot I can say on it. It’s in their hands now. I’ve spoken to Brydon. When I first found out, my first concern was him as a person, as someone I’ve spent a lot of time with and who has been involved in this dressing-room,” Root told reporters two days prior to the start of the Lord’s Test.
“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. 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,” he added.
Off-field issues
England have endured a series of disciplinary distractions over the past year. Carse is now the third player, after Gus Atkinson and Ben Stokes, to miss a Test during the summer while matters involving late-night drinking or off-field behaviour.
Root inherited the captaincy earlier this month after Stokes announced his retirement from international cricket. One of his first decisions was to scrap the midnight curfew that had been introduced following the Ashes.
The right-handed batter, however, refused to speculate on what punishment Carse could eventually face, stressing that the Cricket Regulator’s investigation must be allowed to establish the facts first.
“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,” said Root.
“Of course, that’s not going to happen overnight. We’ve already had conversations as a team about what is expected from this group of players, what it means to play for England, and what it takes to play for England. But we want to create something that we can be proud of, and people who follow us can be proud of,” he added.