England captain Joe Root urged his side to “earn back the trust” of the nation amid another off-field incident dominating the build-up to the second Test against Pakistan.
Root was reinstalled to the role ahead of the series after Ben Stokes’ retirement from international cricket, which followed the former captain being involved in an off-field controversy during this summer’s series defeat to New Zealand.
After Root enjoyed the perfect return to captaincy with a dominant victory at Headingley, video footage emerged of fast bowler Brydon Carse, who had been part of the England squad for the first Test before being released to play for his county, being handcuffed and led away by police on Saturday night after Durham’s players had gone out to celebrate their win at Derbyshire in the County Championship.
Carse, who was seen in the video talking to Durham team-mate Matthew Potts, with Stokes also pictured in the background, has subsequently been withdrawn from the squad for the second Test at Lord’s, which begins on Thursday, with an investigation by the Cricket Regulator under way.
After admitting he was “hacked off” at the latest controversy, Root attempted to put a positive spin on the situation by pointing to the opportunity he and incoming Test head coach Stephen Fleming have to alter the public’s perception of their side.
Speaking on Tuesday, Root said: “Clearly we’re not portraying ourselves as we want to. We’ve got an opportunity to build a culture that is very strong and we can be proud of that’s player-driven.
“That’s not going to happen overnight. We’ve had conversations about what is expected from us, what it means and takes to play for England.
“We want to create something we can be proud of, what people following us can be proud of. We want supporters to look at us and revere, not just what we do on the field but off it as well.
“Over the next little while, as leader of this team, with Stephen, and with the group of players as well, is creating something that is just that.”
The Carse incident is not the first off-field episode England have had to navigate.
White-ball captain Harry Brook was punched by a bouncer while out the evening before a one-day international in New Zealand last autumn.
An unverified video appeared to show opener Ben Duckett drunk while the team were on a mid-series break in the beach resort of Noosa during their ill-fated Ashes tour.
Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson missed the second Test of the 2-1 home defeat to New Zealand earlier this summer after breaking the curfew to attend a Chelsea nightclub as they celebrated victory in the first game of the series at Lord’s.
Stokes and Atkinson were cleared of violent conduct but hit with written warnings after “breaching specific contractual obligations”.
Root continued: “We have a chance to build something that lives alongside what we achieved last week on the field. I thought it was a brilliant performance. The way we played was exceptional.
“We have to align that with being exceptional off the field as well and understand what that looks like and how we want to represent ourselves and our nation.
“With what we’ve got coming up, there are plenty of opportunities to do that. But like I say, it’s not going to happen overnight, in many ways we’re going to have to earn a lot of trust back.
“And something we’re going to have to live and breathe consistently.”
Tongue: Root has made clear what he expects from us
England fast bowler Josh Tongue, who is expected to keep his place in what is likely to be an unchanged XI at Lord’s, said Root has reiterated his expectations of the squad.
Tongue said on Wednesday: “We had a chat before training yesterday as Joe said. It was a very good conversation and he made it clear what he expects from us.
“He’s been around the England dressing room for plenty of years now, he knows what it takes to be the top professional and we’ve just got to do the best we can moving forward.
“We’ve just got to make sure we’re as professional as we can be. Obviously things have happened and we need to try and move on from them to show all the youngsters growing up wanting to play for England that it’s an amazing place to be.
“Playing for England is obviously a privilege. We want to give the next generation the best place that they can be really.”
The only change to England’s squad for the game is Carse being replaced by 23-year-old quick Sonny Baker, who made his Test debut against New Zealand in June.
England vs Pakistan Test series schedule
All games live on Sky Sports; all 11am starts UK and Ireland
Watch day one of the second Test between England and Pakistan, at Lord’s, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10am Thursday (11am first ball). Stream with NOW.
