England Test captain Joe Root has removed the midnight curfew imposed on the England teams only seven months after it was introduced. The curfew was introduced in January after a number of late-night incidents on the tours of New Zealand and Australia.
The England captain said in a sky sports podcast that the curfew rule simply does not work. He also said that players are grown adults and will need to take responsibility for themselves. This removal is the latest update to rules surrounding the behaviour of their players regulation that have come under scrutiny across this year.
Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast, Joe Root said the rule simply does not work. ‘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 feel like they can be grown adults and make good, strong decisions off it.’
The Yorkshire batter returns to the job after Ben Stokes retired from international cricket earlier this summer. The curfew had been brought back following a string of late-night incidents on the winter tours of New Zealand and Australia, and was reinforced in new player guidelines issued by the ECB in July. It had previously been in place during Root’s first captaincy then removed under Stokes, and reinstated again.
ECB remove curfew with immediate effect for both The Test and White ball side
The curfew rule came under the scanner when Stokes and Gus Atkinson were left out of a Test against New Zealand after a nightclub incident in London. Those events also played a part in Stokes’s retirement and Brendon McCullum’s exit as Test coach. Stephen Fleming has now taken over as head coach with Root stepping in as captain for his second stint. The England captain made it clear he and Fleming will manage standards themselves rather than rely on a fixed curfew.
Joe Root said, “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 of those situations, off the field, to manage. We should be known for how we play our cricket and what we do on the field. We should be on the back page of the papers, and people reading about that sort of stuff. So, that’s as much as I’ve got to say on it. Let’s be adults. Look after yourselves, look after each other, create a good, strong culture where you know the right time is to celebrate and enjoy a win, or to have a sensible beer or whatever. And remember you’re playing for England.’
The ECB have confirmed the curfew has been lifted for both the Test and white-ball sides. ‘We have a Test captain and coach who are looking at how they set team standards and culture. As part of this, the curfew will no longer be in place.’ the board said. England will begin their three match Test series against Pakistan at Headingley next week.