Root 'hacked off' and 'disappointed' at Carse incident

England captain Joe Root says he is “hacked off” and “disappointed” at the incident involving fast bowler Brydon Carse at a Derby nightclub.

Carse, 31, was dropped from the squad for the second Test starting against Pakistan this week.

Images that appeared on social media on Sunday showed Carse, 31, in handcuffs outside a bar in Derby on Saturday night and he was briefly arrested and subsequently de-arrested.

“If I’m being brutally honest, I’m really hacked off, I’m really disappointed,” Root said in the opening to a news conference.

“After last week’s performance, we’re sat here and we’re talking about something that is not related to it at all.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has referred the incident to the Cricket Regulator and Carse was replaced in the squad by Sonny Baker, with the Test starting at Lord’s on Thursday.

Carse was not on England duty at the time of the incident as he was released to play for Durham, but he is a centrally contracted player.

Root also said he had spoken to his England team-mate about the incident, and expressed his frustration at the “stupid mistakes” that are continually being made.

“I’ve spoken to Brydon, and when I first found out my main concern was him as a person,” Root added.

“I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn by saying he’s very upset, very apologetic and understands his actions. I’m sure that when he gets his chance he will say that himself.

“But I don’t think it’s the isolated incident itself, it’s the fact we keep making stupid mistakes away from the game and it’s detracting from what we’re doing on the field.”

In October, England white-ball captain Harry Brook was punched by a bouncer outside a nightclub in Wellington, New Zealand, with team-mates Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue also present.

During the Ashes tour of Australia, opener Ben Duckett was filmed apparently drunk on England’s holiday in Noosa.

And in June, former Test captain Ben Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson broke a team curfew and were present when a member of England’s security staff was punched by a Saracens rugby player in a London nightclub.

In this latest incident, Carse was with Durham team-mates Stokes and Matthew Potts, all of whom are under England central contracts. In Stokes’ case, the England deal remains in place despite his international retirement in June.

It makes a total of eight contracted players who have been involved in or present for late-night incidents in the past year – more than a quarter of the 30 men on England deals.

When he was reappointed as Test captain, Root confirmed he would remove the midnight curfew which was previously in place during Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s regime after a string of off-field incidents during the Ashes over the winter.

Root stood by that decision, saying he still did not think it was “the right way to go”, but admitted it would take some time for the team to be trusted by the fans again.

“In many ways we’re going to have to earn a lot of trust back, and it’s something that we’re going to have to live and breathe consistently,” he said.

“I might only be in this dressing room for a couple more years, but there is a group of players there who might be in there for another 10.

“I’ve made it very clear how we want to conduct ourselves, and now we’ve got to live it and show people what I see day in, day out in the dressing room, which is a group of characters who know what it means to play for England and not having incidents define how we are seen as players. That’s going to take some work and time.”

Root also confirmed he had spoken to his predecessor Stokes, who was also seen in the social media video, but only to check in on Carse’s wellbeing.

He was asked what potential consequences Carse might face but said he would have no involvement as it is in the hands of the regulator, and was keen to reiterate that he was focusing on moving forward and “building something to be proud of”.

“I don’t think the recent past has been a good look,” Root, 35, said.

“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.”