England fast bowler Brydon Carse has been stood down from the national squad for the second Test against Pakistan this week. The decision follows the emergence of footage showing the 31-year-old in police handcuffs outside a Derby city centre bar during the early hours of Sunday morning.
Carse, who is centrally contracted with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), was detained briefly by police on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly outside Molly Malone’s Irish Tavern. He was released without charge after being held for what was described as a few minutes. The incident occurred while Carse was celebrating a County Championship victory over Derbyshire alongside his Durham teammates.
Former England captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Matthew Potts were also present at the scene. Sources indicate the situation arose after Carse was denied re-entry to the establishment shortly before closing time, following an exchange of words with a member of the public who had spilled a drink on him. Neither Potts nor Stokes are considered to have acted improperly, and Durham is not pursuing the matter internally.
The Cricket Regulator is now investigating the incident to determine if a disrepute charge is warranted. In a statement issued on Monday, the ECB confirmed that Carse will remain unavailable for the second Test while the investigation proceeds and the full facts are established. Hampshire’s Sonny Baker has been named as his replacement in the 16-man squad.
Although Carse was not officially on England duty at the time—having been sent to play for Durham after participating in the first Test squad in Leeds—the governing body has taken a firm stance. The move comes as England seeks to maintain discipline following a series of alcohol-related incidents involving the men’s team over the past nine months. Joe Root, who recently removed the team’s midnight curfew, has brought his pre-match press conference forward by a day to address the situation directly.
This development arrives shortly after Root publicly expressed his expectation for players to act as mature role models. The current situation mirrors a precedent from earlier this summer, when both Stokes and Gus Atkinson were sidelined for the second Test against New Zealand while the Cricket Regulator reviewed a late-night incident at a Chelsea bar. While Atkinson was involved in a physical altercation with a rugby player, he was not deemed the aggressor by the ECB.
The team’s history with such off-field issues includes the 2023-24 winter tour of Australia, where Harry Brook was punched by a nightclub bouncer in Wellington, and the mid-Ashes break in Noosa, where Ben Duckett was filmed inebriated. While Duckett was cleared to play at the time, the ECB has demonstrated a more cautious approach regarding recent conduct.
Carse, who was England’s leading wicket-taker during the recent 4-1 defeat, had been competing for a spot in the pace attack alongside Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson, and Josh Tongue. While he was considered the first reserve for the upcoming match at Lord’s, his future standing in the team hierarchy may now be impacted by this latest controversy. The squad is scheduled to undergo two training days at Lord’s before the second Test begins on Thursday. The report also notes that with England’s 16‑man squad reconvening after the three-day innings victory secured at Headingley last Friday, carse had been due to travel to London on Monday. The report also notes that likewise those about his authority, questions about the team’s relationship with alcohol are inevitable. The report also notes that even if it was later argued the precise details of it had not been well communicated, the midnight curfew was in place on that occasion. The report also notes that something which came to light only at the end of the Ashes, brook was given a clandestine fine at the time. The report also notes that playing all five Tests and finishing as England’s leading wicket-taker, albeit conceding runs with it, carse was backed heavily by Stokes during that 4-1 defeat. The report also notes that a hand injury delayed his start to the English summer – and scuppered an intended spell at the Indian Premier League – but he had returned to fitness during The Hundred. The report also notes that while England were intending to stick with Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue this week as they target a first Test series win in 18 months, Carse was deemed first reserve. The report also notes that in theory, mean opportunities down the line, unless this latest late‑night incident has affected his place in the pecking order, the retirement of Stokes in June and the new four‑pronged pace strategy should.
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