Joe Root has voiced frustration as his winning return as England's Test captain was marred by another off-field incident, resulting in Brydon Carse being dropped from the squad for the second Test against Pakistan.
Carse has been referred to the cricket regulator after social media videos showed the fast bowler being escorted by police in handcuffs following an incident at a nightclub in Derby on Saturday.
This is the latest in a series of alcohol-related controversies that have dogged the England team since their disastrous tour of New Zealand and Australia late last year.
White-ball captain Harry Brook was involved in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer in Wellington, and viral footage showed opener Ben Duckett appearing intoxicated during a night out amid the 4-1 Ashes defeat to Australia.
In June, former captain Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson received written warnings and were suspended for the second Test against New Zealand following a nightclub incident in London, which came after they breached curfew.
Stokes announced a surprise retirement from international cricket during the third Test shortly after, paving the way for Root to return for a second stint as red-ball captain.
England thrashed Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs inside three days in the first match under Root last week.
“If I'm brutally honest, I'm really frustrated. I'm really disappointed that after the performance we put in last week, we're sitting here talking about something that's got nothing to do with it at all,” Root said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“It's not just that incident. It's the fact we keep making silly mistakes off the field and it's overshadowing what we do on the field.”
A curfew on players' nights out has been in place since January following the turbulent tour of Australia.
However, Root said he would not impose a curfew as he does not believe it's an effective way to change the culture within the England team.
“I still don't believe that's the way to go. What's important is creating something bigger than that. It's having something long-term that we can be proud of,” the 35-year-old said.
“Obviously we're not representing ourselves the way we want to, and I think we have an opportunity to build a very strong culture, one we can be proud of, driven by the players themselves, and of course, that's not going to happen overnight.
“We've had conversations as a team about what's expected of this group of players, what it means to play for England, what it takes to play for England.
“We want to create something that we can be proud of, and that people who follow us can be proud of as well.”
Carse was not selected for the first Test and has been withdrawn from the squad for the second Test, scheduled to take place at Lord's on Thursday.
