England are likely to go into this Lord\u2019s Test against Pakistan on Thursday unchanged, and so in that respect it\u00a0beats the Rex Rooms fiasco and the semi-skimmed team that was then hammered at the Oval. The\u00a0briefly handcuffed Brydon\u00a0Carse, unused last week, was with his county when the latest\u00a0self-own took place.<\/p>\n
And yet the footage of Carse outside Molly Malone\u2019s Irish Tavern still came at the worst possible time\u00a0for Joe Root as, with his new head coach still to arrive, he tries to\u00a0plot a fresh course. Root would sooner be drilling the on-field basics into his new-look side, not issuing yet more reminders about off-field standards.<\/p>\n
Drink-related stories tend to trigger all manner of conversations about the sport\u2019s relationship with alcohol. And like any Lord\u2019s Test, the bingo card of opinions will again be ticked off to a soundtrack of popping corks and beer flowing freely from the taps.<\/p>\n
But even with English cricket\u2019s temperance movement still a fringe one, the public do expect a certain level of professionalism: more professional, certainly, than Harry\u00a0Brook being clocked by a bouncer the night before captaining his country. And maybe, in a busy home summer, not going too large after a solitary win.<\/p>\n
With all due respect to Derbyshire, sixth in Division Two and last seen in the top flight 13\u00a0years ago, they are not \u2013 or at least shouldn\u2019t be \u2013 a 4am departure from the Irish bar kind of victory if you are an international cricketer.<\/p>\n
England\u2019s buildup to the second Test has been overshadowed by footage of Brydon Carse outside a bar in police handcuffs. Photograph: Robbie Stephenson\/PA<\/p>\n
If Durham\u2019s players thought so, good luck to them in some ways. They will argue they had earned an\u00a0extra day off. Notwithstanding the precise details of the incident being looked at by Derbyshire police and the Cricket<\/a> Regulator, Carse\u2019s sporting mistake was not\u00a0thinking like a player due to join up with a Test squad two days later.\u00a0He was just one injury away from a recall.<\/p>\n Instead, like a fair few of England\u2019s on-field errors this past year, he has become content to be clipped up,\u00a0shared widely and lampooned.\u00a0The best way to change perceptions remains winning, with this week a golden chance for\u00a0England to secure a first Test series victory since the tour of New\u00a0Zealand 20 months ago.<\/p>\n Quick GuideProbable Second Test teamsShow<\/p>\n England (likely): Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue<\/p>\n Pakistan (possible): Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Babar Azam (c), Saud Shakeel, Salman Agha, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Ali Usman, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Ubaid Shah<\/p>\n Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n When briefly discussing the actual cricket in his pre-match press conference, Root said he expected a response from Pakistan \u2013 given the calamity they endured at Headingley, the only way is up for the tourists. They also welcome back their captain, Babar Azam, who is \u201c90% fit\u201d after missing the opener with a hand injury.<\/p>\n Babar is not necessarily a magic bullet, however, nearly four years since his last Test century and with only one of his nine to date coming outside Asia. The 31-year-old at least looked relaxed during the training days, not weighed down by the growing despondency of their fans and talk of a historic low.<\/p>\n
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