Brydon Carse omitted from England Test squad after Derby nightclub incident
England have dropped Brydon Carse from their squad for the second Test against Pakistan after he was seen in handcuffs outside a nightclub in Derby on Saturday night, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Monday.
Carse was recorded being held in handcuffs outside Molly Malone’s Tavern in Derby city centre shortly after Durham’s 338-run County Championship win over Derbyshire; he was not arrested or charged. The fast bowler had been released from England duty to play for Durham but remains a centrally contracted player while an investigation is carried out.
“Following a referral from the ECB, the cricket regulator has confirmed that they will investigate events on Saturday night in Derby. 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. Brydon will be replaced in the squad for this match by Sonny Baker,” the ECB said in a statement on Monday.
Carse had initially been named in England’s squad for the second Test but Sonny Baker, who made his only Test appearance against New Zealand in June, will replace him for the match at Lord’s. Carse had been released from the Test squad to play county cricket for Durham prior to the incident.
Reports said Carse was denied re-entry to the nightclub after an alleged exchange of words with another member of the public over a spilled drink; Durham are not believed to be pursuing the matter. Footage shared on social media also showed former England captain Ben Stokes in the background and fast bowler Matthew Potts speaking to security staff and police.
Carse was part of England’s Ashes squad last winter and finished the series as the team’s leading wicket-taker. The omission comes amid a period of increased scrutiny over off-field incidents involving England players earlier this summer, when Stokes and Gus Atkinson were left out of the second Test against New Zealand while an investigation into a late-night incident at a Chelsea bar took place; Atkinson was involved in a physical altercation with a Saracens rugby player, although the ECB said he was not the aggressor. England previously handled the Harry Brook nightclub episode in Wellington by issuing a fine that only became public at the end of the Ashes series.
Carse’s omission presents an early off-field issue for Joe Root in his second spell as England captain; Root, 35, had recently removed the team curfew and, five days before the Derby incident, at his first press conference since returning as captain urged his players to be “good human beings”. England named a 15-man squad due to convene in London on Monday afternoon before two training days at Lord’s ahead of the second Test; they lead the three-match series 1-0 after winning the opening Test by an innings and 103 runs, with the second Test scheduled to begin at Lord’s on Thursday, August 27.
