England captain Joe Root 'hacked off' and 'disappointed' after Brydon Carse handcuff incident - 'We keep making stupid mistakes'
Published 25/08/2026 at 14:36 GMT+1
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England skipper Joe Root admitted he was “hacked off” and “disappointed” after an incident involving fast bowler Brydon Carse at a Derby bar. Carse was dropped from this week’s second Test against Pakistan after images emerged showing the 31-year-old in handcuffs.
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He was widely reported to have been in handcuffs for a few minutes before being released without charge.
The England and Wales Cricket Board referred the incident to the Cricket Regulator, with Carse replaced in the squad by Sonny Baker ahead of Thursday’s Test at Lord’s. England won the first Test by an innings and 103 runs.
In a press conference, Root said: "If I'm being brutally honest, I'm really hacked off, I'm really disappointed.
"After last week's performance, we're sat here and we're talking about something that is not related to it at all."
Although Carse was not on England duty when the incident occurred, he is centrally contracted.
Root said he had spoken to his England team-mates about the incident and lamented the ”stupid mistakes” being made.
"I've spoken to Brydon, and when I first found out my main concern was him as a person," Root added.
"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.
"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."
England have been plagued by a series of incidents over the past year, with white-ball captain Harry Brook punched by a bouncer outside a Wellington nightclub in October, before Ben Duckett was filmed seemingly drunk on an England holiday in Noosa months later.
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Then, 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 this latest incident, Carse was with Durham team-mates Stokes and Matthew Potts, all of whom are under England central contracts. In Stokes' case, the England deal remains in place despite his international retirement in June.
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