Root says he is 'hacked off' and 'disappointed' over Brydon Carse nightclub incident at Lord's

England captain Joe Root said he was "hacked off" and "disappointed" at the incident involving fast bowler Brydon Carse during a news conference at Lord's on Tuesday afternoon. Carse, 31, was dropped from England's squad for the second Test against Pakistan this week after images circulating on social media appeared to show him in handcuffs outside a bar in Derby on Saturday night; he was briefly arrested and subsequently de-arrested.

Root opened the media briefing by saying, "If I'm being brutally honest, I'm really hacked off, I'm really disappointed," and added, "After last week's performance, we're sat here and we're talking about something that is not related to it at all." Carse was not on England duty at the time of the incident because he had been released to play for Durham, although he remains a centrally contracted player.

Root said he had spoken to Carse directly and that his initial concern had been for him personally, stating: "I've spoken to Brydon, and when I first found out my main concern was him as a person." He went on to report Carse's reaction in his own words: "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."

Addressing wider frustration, Root warned that off-field errors were diverting attention from the team's on-field work, saying: "But I don't think it's the isolated incident itself, it's the fact that we keep making stupid mistakes away from the game and it's detracting from what we're doing on the field." He described the situation as a recurring problem that needed to be dealt with inside the dressing room.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has referred the matter to the Cricket Regulator. The squad change for the upcoming Test saw Carse replaced by Sonny Baker for the match that starts at Lord's on Thursday.

BBC Sport's report detailed a string of recent late-night incidents involving or involving the presence of England-contracted players: in October white-ball captain Harry Brook was punched by a bouncer outside a nightclub in Wellington with Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue present; Ben Duckett was filmed apparently drunk on England's holiday in Noosa during the Ashes tour; 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.

The coverage noted that Carse was with Durham team-mates Ben Stokes and Matthew Potts during the latest incident and that all three are under England central contracts. It added that Stokes' England deal remains active despite his international retirement in June and said: "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 reappointed as Test captain, Root confirmed he would remove the midnight curfew previously imposed under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum's regime; he said he stood by that decision while acknowledging its challenges, noting he "still did not think it was 'the right way to go'". He also warned that the team would need to rebuild public confidence, saying: "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. "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."

The ECB referral to the Cricket Regulator is under way and Sonny Baker has been named as Carse's replacement in the England squad for the second Test against Pakistan, which begins at Lord's on Thursday.