Stuart Broad has branded Brydon Carse “pretty daft” for becoming involved in an incident that ended with him handcuffed by police officers on a night out in Derby.
The England and Wales Cricket Board is currently weighing up its next steps after Carse became the latest in a growing line of contracted players to become embroiled in alcohol-related drama.
The 31-year-old is currently in the squad for this week’s second Rothesay Test against Pakistan, with players linking up in London on Monday evening ahead of a training session at Lord’s on Tuesday.
That could change, though, as the matter is investigated further.
Speaking on his For the Love of Cricket podcast, former Test bowler Broad said: “We can’t really make a judgement apart from it being, whatever’s happened, pretty daft. When you’re in a Test match squad – yes, he’s not played – pretty daft.
“We’ll wait and see. We don’t know, it could have been 10 o’clock in the evening, it could have been two o’clock, but whatever. This is not really anything that anybody wants to be talking about any more to be brutally honest.”
A brief video on social media showed the fast bowler being apprehended by several police officers outside a nightclub as he celebrated Durham’s County Championship win over Derbyshire. Former England captain Ben Stokes appeared to feature in the background of the clip, as did fast bowler Matthew Potts, who has not featured in an international squad since last winter’s Ashes.
There is no indication either Stokes or Potts did anything untoward and it has been reported Carse was not arrested and was released without charge.
A brief ECB statement read: “We are aware of an incident which is reported to have taken place in Derby (on Saturday) night, and are currently investigating. We will provide a further update when possible.”
Durham have refused to comment, citing the ECB investigation. Derbyshire Police have been approached for comment.
The England team’s relationship with drinking has been in the spotlight for much of the last year and the latest episode comes just days after returning Test captain Joe Root abolished the midnight curfew.
In doing so he said players would need to “self-police” and urged them to be “really good role models and human beings”.
The curfew had come into place after a winter that saw several problematic incidents, including Harry Brook being struck by a nightclub bouncer in Wellington the night before captaining an ODI and a boozy mid-Ashes trip to Noosa that led to an unflattering social media video of an intoxicated Ben Duckett.
Stokes and Gus Atkinson were left out of the second Test of the summer against New Zealand after breaching “contractual obligations” during a celebratory night out following victory at Lord’s. An investigation concluded Atkinson had been subject to “unprovoked attacks” from a Saracens rugby player and the Cricket Regulator ruled the pair had no case to answer. Stokes returned for one more Test before retiring from England duty.
In his own subsequent appearance on Broad’s podcast, Stokes denied the England team had a drinking problem but suggested there was a wider issue in the sport.
“I think cricket has a drinking culture and that hasn’t changed,” he said.
“It has just stayed there and has been embedded within the sport. The relationship between alcohol and cricket is just something that hasn’t moved on as the game has become more professional.
“For people who think the English cricket team has a drinking culture, I would say no. I would just say cricket has a culture that is associated with alcohol.”
