Root's curfew cancellation under scrutiny after Carse nightclub arrest

Joe Root cancelled England's player curfew in July 2026 on returning as captain. Brydon Carse was then handcuffed by police outside a Derby nightclub on August 22 and dropped for the Lord's Test. The curfew Root scrapped had been breached by Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson in New Zealand — a breach Stokes cited as the catalyst for his June 2026 international retirement.