LONDON (AP) — England pacer Brydon Carse was dropped on Monday for the second cricket test against Pakistan following the latest off-field incident to affect the national team.
Images on social media showed Carse in police handcuffs outside a nightclub in Derby on Saturday night, following a game with his club side Durham.
The England and Wales Cricket Board said in a statement that Carse will be replaced in the squad by Sonny Baker for the second test, which starts on Thursday.
“Following a referral from the ECB, the Cricket Regulator have confirmed that they will investigate events on Saturday night in Derby,” the ECB said in a statement on its website Monday. “Brydon Carse will no longer be available for selection for the Second men’s Rothesay test match while this investigation is ongoing and the full facts are obtained.”
The Cricket Regulator independently investigates matters where there is an allegation of a breach of the ECB’s regulations. Outcomes include no further action being taken, a caution or a charge for breaching regulations.
The incident came just days after the midnight curfew imposed on the England men’s cricket team was scrapped under newly appointed captain Joe Root.
That restriction had been put in place by England managing director Rob Key after controversial late-night incidents on the winter tours of New Zealand and Australia.
Key said in December that he would investigate the drinking habits of the England team following reports players were over-indulging in alcohol during the Ashes series, which England lost 4-1.
One video appeared to show England’s opening batter Ben Duckett unable to remember how to get back to the hotel.
Then, in June, former test captain Ben Stokes and teammate Gus Atkinson were dropped for one test match following an incident in a nightclub.
They were out past the curfew following the first match in a three test series against New Zealand.
Stokes returned for the final New Zealand test but then suddenly announced his retirement from test cricket during the match — a chain of events that led to the return of Root for a second spell as skipper. ___
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