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Joe Root has abolished the midnight curfew for his England Test side, telling his players to \u201cbe adults\u201d after a string of late-night incidents.<\/p>\n
A curfew was imposed on the \u00adEngland men\u2019s teams after their Ashes defeat in the winter, when the on-field action was overshadowed by players\u2019 behaviour off it. Most \u00adnotably, there was Harry Brook\u2019s altercation with a nightclub bouncer<\/a> on the eve of a one-day international in Wellington, with the batter admitting he was fortunate to keep his position as white-ball captain.<\/p>\n Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were suspended for the second Test against New Zealand in June after breaking the curfew while celebrating victory<\/a> in the series opener. Stokes returned for the series closer before announcing his retirement from international cricket<\/a>, prompting the return of Root as Test captain<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Yorkshireman will lead next week against Pakistan, and is embarking on a new era with Stephen Fleming as red-ball head coach. The 35-year-old told the Sky Sports Cricket<\/a> podcast that the \u00adcurfew has been abolished, arguing: \u201cI don\u2019t think they work.\u201d It is understood the relaxing of rules also applies to the white-ball\u00a0sides.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not going to be a curfew,\u201d Root said. \u201cI don\u2019t think this needs to be a big deal. I don\u2019t think they work and if you want guys to take responsibility on the field they\u2019ve got to feel like they can be grown adults off it and make good, strong decisions.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s for us as a team to manage well, and self-police well, for me and [Fleming]. Ultimately, you\u2019re grown adults. You know what it takes to play for England. You know what your responsibilities are off the field.<\/p>\n \u201c 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 papers.<\/p>\n \u201cLook after yourselves, look after each other, create a good, strong \u00adculture where you know when the right time is to celebrate and enjoy a win or to have a sensible beer, and remember you\u2019re playing for\u00a0England.<\/p>\n
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