England Test Captain Joe Root has criticised the repeated off-field mistakes surrounding the national team after Brydon Carse was removed from the squad for the second Test against Pakistan while the Cricket Regulator investigates an incident in Derby.
The case has also returned to police attention. According to an exclusive report by the Daily Mail, Derbyshire Police have reopened their investigation into Carse after the fast bowler was briefly arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly on Saturday night before being de-arrested, and are examining the precise sequence of events.
Root confronts England’s off-field problems
Root addressed the issue on Tuesday ahead of the second Test at Lord’s, after his pre-match press conference was brought forward by a day. England had beaten Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley on Friday in Root’s first Test since returning to the captaincy.
Speaking at the press conference, Root said: “If I’m being brutally honest, I’m really hacked off. I’m really disappointed that after last week’s performance we are sat here and we’re talking about something not related to it at all.”
Carse had been included in England’s squad for the opening Pakistan Test but was released to play for Durham after being left out of the XI. Durham’s County Championship match against Derbyshire began on Thursday and finished on Saturday with a 338-run victory, after which the players went out in Derby.
Social media footage subsequently showed Carse in handcuffs with police officers present. Durham teammates former England Captain Ben Stokes and Matthew Potts also appeared in the footage.
Carse removed from England squad
As previously reported by cricexec, the ECB referred the incident to the Cricket Regulator and made Carse unavailable for the second Test. Hampshire fast bowler Sonny Baker replaced the 31-year-old in England’s 16-man squad for the Lord’s match.
The regulatory process is separate from the reopened police investigation. The Cricket Regulator has a range of potential options available, including taking no further action, issuing a caution or bringing a charge for a breach of regulations, which can include bringing the game into disrepute.
Root said: “In terms of the incident itself, obviously with the regulator, there’s not a lot I can say on it. It’s in their hands now.”
Carse is centrally contracted by the ECB and had been due to rejoin the England squad in London on Monday following his appearance for Durham.
Root speaks to Carse
The episode has presented Root with an early test of the standards he wants England to maintain during his second spell as Test Captain. He had already removed the team’s midnight curfew after returning to the role, placing responsibility on players to manage their behaviour away from cricket.
Root said: “I’ve spoken to Brydon when I first found out; my first concern was for him as a person. In my time in the dressing room, you obviously develop personal relationships with players. I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn when I say he’s been very upset and has been very apologetic and understands his actions. I’m sure when he gets his chance, he will say that himself.”
Root also spoke to Stokes following the incident, but only in relation to Carse’s wellbeing. Stokes and Potts have not been identified in the supplied accounts as subjects of the investigation arising from Carse’s detention.
England’s wider conduct comes under scrutiny
Carse’s case follows several other late-night incidents involving or occurring in the presence of centrally contracted England players over the past year.
White-Ball Captain Harry Brook was punched by a nightclub bouncer in Wellington before an ODI last October. During England’s subsequent Ashes tour, Ben Duckett appeared in footage from the team’s mid-series break in Noosa. Earlier this summer, Stokes and Gus Atkinson missed the second Test against New Zealand while the Cricket Regulator investigated a separate incident at a Chelsea nightclub; both were later given written warnings after being cleared of violent conduct.
Against that background, Root has held a strong discussion with his players about the standards attached to representing England, both on and off the field. He has also stressed the longer-term responsibility carried by members of the group who could remain in the international environment for considerably longer than he does.
Root said: “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.”
The captain has nevertheless stood by his decision not to restore the midnight curfew. His approach instead places responsibility on the players to demonstrate through their conduct the standards expected within the England environment and prevent off-field incidents from defining the team publicly.
Root says England must rebuild trust
The timing of the Carse incident has sharpened the contrast between England’s performances and the questions surrounding the team away from cricket. Root’s return to the captaincy had begun with the emphatic Headingley victory, secured inside three days, but attention ahead of the Lord’s Test has shifted towards player conduct.
Root added: “We have a chance to build something that lives alongside what we achieved last week on the field. I thought it was a brilliant performance. The way we played was exceptional. We have to align that with being exceptional off the field as well and understand what that looks like and how we want to represent ourselves and our nation. With what we’ve got coming up, there are plenty of opportunities to do that. But like I say, it’s not going to happen overnight, in many ways we’re going to have to earn a lot of trust back. And something we’re going to have to live and breathe consistently.”
Carse, meanwhile, has become an established part of England’s pace resources since making his Test debut in October 2024. He has taken 58 Test wickets and was England’s leading wicket-taker during their 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia in 2025-26, taking 22 wickets across the five Tests. A hand injury subsequently delayed his start to the English summer and prevented an intended spell in the Indian Premier League before he returned to fitness during The Hundred.
Root said: “I don’t think the recent past has been a good look. It’s our responsibility to change that. I see the dressing room every day and how we operate around cricket and it’s very impressive. But at the same time, I can understand why we are viewed in a certain way and in a certain light at the moment. That’s what lies ahead of us, to change that. I just think, if we don’t put ourselves in certain situations, it’s not something we will have to worry about.”
England will now prepare for Thursday’s second Test against Pakistan at Lord’s without Carse, with Baker taking his place in the squad. Carse remains unavailable while the Cricket Regulator establishes the full circumstances of Saturday night’s incident, alongside the renewed examination of the case by Derbyshire Police.
