The return of a team curfew looks set to be among a number of changes facing England’s cricket stars in the wake of their disastrous Ashes tour. The 4-1 series thumping by Australia has also raised questions over the future of coach Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes’ role as captain. The England Cricket Board (ECB) has launched a thorough investigation into the Ashes debacle, with a number of alcohol-fulled incidents under the microscope.
It comes after England’s preparations were widely criticised after they opted against playing traditional warm-up matches before the series. They also chose not to play a pink-ball practice match before the second Test in Brisbane, despite losing the Perth opener in just two days.
A curfew for England’s players is among a number of changes being considered after several alcohol-fulled incidents during their disastrous Ashes tour. Pic: Getty
But it was England’s boozy mid-series getaway to Noosa which drew the most ire around the cricket world. Several players were accused of going on a marathon drinking session in the Queensland resort town after being photographed together at a Noosa pub.
Footage also emerged of England opener Ben Duckett in an intoxicated state after a night out. To make matters worse, it emerged after the series concluded that England star Harry Brook had been fined for a drunken nightclub incident in New Zealand before the series started.
The England vice-captain was fined 30,000 pounds ($60,000 AUD) after an altercation with a bouncer in Wellington, the night before his side lost an ODI against the Kiwis. Brook issued an apology after the incident but held onto his role as Test vice-skipper and captain of England’s white-ball teams.
England’s forgettable Ashes tour hit a new low after it emerged that Harry Brook (L) was involved in a drunken incident before the series. Pic: Getty
England could reinstate player curfews after Ashes debacle
The ECB’s thorough review into the Ashes debacle is set to examine the team’s planning and preparation as well as “individual behaviours” from members of the England squad. And it’s understood changes to the team’s “culture” are already being implemented ahead of a seven-week tour of the subcontinent.
England players will leave on the weekend for a white-ball series against Sri Lanka, which is closely followed by the T20 World Cup being hosted by Sri Lanka and India. And a curfew for the England side could be reinstated after being brought in by the ECB’s former managing director Andrew Strauss before the 2017-18 Ashes series.
That came in response to an incident involving Jonny Bairstow – who was accused of head-butting former Aussie Test batter Cameron Bancroft. Stokes was also embroiled in an altercation with a patron outside a club in Bristol weeks earlier, having been sent home in disgrace from an Australia tour in 2013 due to his boozy behaviour.
But Stokes and McCullum scrapped the curfew in 2022 in order to treat the players like adults and limit the amount of restrictions on them. But the recent alcohol-fuelled dramas, coupled with England’s poor recent form, has shone a fresh spotlight on the issue.
There are also growing suggestions that McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key could lose their roles in the wake of England’s Ashes humbling. The short turnaround before England next’s tour could spare them the axe for now though.