England ends midnight curfew after Joe Root named captain

In London on August 13, 2026, England's midnight curfew for the men’s cricket team was scrapped after Joe Root was appointed captain ahead of the three-match test series against Pakistan next week. Root confirmed the change as he returns for a second spell as skipper.

The curfew had been introduced by England managing director Rob Key following controversial late-night incidents on the winter tours of New Zealand and Australia. Former Test captain Ben Stokes was out past the curfew following a match against New Zealand in June, leading to his temporary suspension and then sudden retirement from Test cricket — a chain of events that has sparked the return of Root for a second spell as skipper.

Root spoke on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast and addressed the decision directly: "There’s not going to be a curfew. "I don’t think this needs to be a big deal, to be honest," he said. "My view on curfews is I don’t think they work, and if you want guys to take responsibility on the field they’ve got to be able to feel they can be grown adults off it and make good strong decisions off it.

"That’s for us as a team to manage well, and self-police well, for me and Flem (Stephen Fleming) to manage well in many ways. But ultimately you’re grown adults, you know what it takes to play for England, you know what your responsibilities are off the field and we need to make sure we don’t find ourselves with any little situations off the field." Root wants the team to "create a good strong culture when you know when the right time is to celebrate and enjoy a win or to have a sensible beer or whatever, but remember you’re playing for England."

The new era for English cricket begins next week with a three-match test series against Pakistan.