England players appear set to be placed under a curfew for the T20 World Cup as the fallout from their calamitous Ashes tour continues. The heat is on just about everyone involved after the 4-1 series defeat to Australia was compounded by concerns about the squad’s drinking habits.
Making matters worse, it only emerged at the end of the series that Test vice-captain and white-ball skipper Harry Brook had been fined £30,000 ($A60,000) by the England and Wales Cricket Board for a late-night altercation with a bouncer on the eve of an ODI in New Zealand before the Australia tour. The Times now reports the ECB is “considering” a curfew for the World Cup in Sri Lanka and India as a stop-gap measure while a full review is completed.
A curfew was first implemented in 2017-18 after a run-in between then wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow and Australian opener Cameron Bancroft, and Ben Stokes’ high-profile incident in Bristol that went to court. Stokes then banished the curfew in 2022 when he took over as captain alongside new coach Brendon McCullum.
The Brook incident in NZ came six weeks before Ben Duckett was recorded while seemingly drunk in Noosa, during England’s controversial mid-Ashes break. Stokes is likely to remain Test skipper but McCullum’s future is less certain amid a growing perception of unprofessional preparation and loose training methods alongside the drinking concerns.
McCullum last week revealed he has already opened talks with ECB chief executive Richard Gould and chair Richard Thompson, who were both in Sydney to watch the end of Ashes, but was less forthcoming on details. Asked if he had spoken to the pair about his role, McCullum said: “Yeah, I have, but I’m not going to go into that. I’m not going to comment.”
