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The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has taken note of the players’ involvement in binge drinking sessions during the recently concluded Ashes tour. According to a report in The Times, the board is considering imposing a curfew for the travelling contingent ahead of their upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka and the T20 World Cup, set to be played from February 7 to March 8 in India and Sri Lanka.
England, led by Ben Stokes, lost the five-match Ashes series 4-1 to Australia, and the entire campaign was marred by negativity surrounding the visitors. Several reports stated that the players visited casinos on multiple occasions, and the culture of drinking was prevalent throughout the series.
The ECB is in the midst of a review following the Ashes debacle, and the “culture” issue within the group is at the top of the list of concerns.
“According to a source, changes are already being put in place in relation to the team ‘culture’ for the white-ball series against Sri Lanka and the T20 World Cup that follows in Sri Lanka and India,” the UK Times reported.
The report further added that the ECB are also considering imposing further stricter measures to keep the atmosphere in check. England lost the Ashes inside 11 days, and it has now come to light that between the second and third Tests in Brisbane, players from the travelling contingent spent as many as six days drinking in what reportedly resembled a “stag do”.
England opening batter Ben Duckett was also caught on camera, considerably inebriated, in Noosa. Once the Ashes came to an end, The Telegraph reported that ODI captain Harry Brook was involved in a heated altercation with a bouncer after being refused entry to a nightclub in New Zealand.
All you need to know about the curfew
If the curfew is indeed imposed, then it wouldn’t be the first time that it has been done. Earlier, this was done during the 2017-18 Ashes tour after a fiery clash between England’s Jonny Bairstow and England’s Cameron Bancroft. Previously, it was done so after Ben Stokes’ infamous nightclub brawl in Bristol.
Stokes himself scrapped the curfew after becoming the captain in 2022. Speaking of the tour of Sri Lanka, England are scheduled to play three ODIs and as many T20Is from January 22 to February 3.
England are placed in Group C for the T20 World Cup alongside Bangladesh, the West Indies, Nepal and Italy. The two-time champions will begin their campaign on February 8 against Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
