Joe Root trusts England Test squad to manage their own 3 a.m. nightclub brawls

BY: @sports_correspondent2 HOURS AGO

FIG. 01 England Test captain Joe Root holds a pint of beer at a podium in a Lahore hotel conference room as a bartender with a black eye and an injured player look on ahead of the Pakistan series.

Ahead of a crucial three-match series in Pakistan, England Test captain Joe Root has officially abolished the squad's midnight curfew, transferring the logistical burden of late-night bar altercations entirely back to the players.

Root framed the deregulation as a necessary vote of confidence in the dressing room, explaining that veteran internationals must be trusted to manage their own unprovoked physical confrontations with hospitality staff. The curfew, implemented following a disastrous Ashes campaign, had drawn internal criticism for forcing the squad to condense their public intoxication and subsequent arrests into a highly restrictive four-hour evening window.

The tactical shift immediately relieves pressure on white-ball captain Harry Brook, whose heavily publicised altercation with a Wellington bouncer earlier this year was reportedly rushed due to the looming midnight deadline. Under the newly relaxed protocols, analysts expect Brook and the top order to take a more measured, patient approach to being escorted off commercial premises by local authorities.

FIG. 02 Root confirmed the squad will now be trusted to pace their own public intoxication over a full 24-hour cycle.

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Guardian Sport · theguardian.com

‘Be adults’: Joe Root gets rid of England Test team’s midnight curfew

‘I don’t think they work,’ says returning Test captain Root takes charge for three-match Pakistan series Joe Root has abolished the midnight curfew for his England Test side, telling his players to “be adults” after a string of late-night incidents. A curfew was imposed on the England men’s teams after their Ashes defeat in the winter, when the on-field action was overshadowed by players’ behaviour off it. Most notably there was Harry Brook’s altercation with a nightclub bouncer on the eve of a one-day international in Wellington, with the batter admitting he was fortunate to keep his position as white-ball captain. Continue reading...