Ashes: England cricketers cop midnight curfew but no booze ban

FURIOUS England bosses have imposed a midnight curfew on players for the rest of the Ashes tour in the wake of the Jonny Bairstow headbutt drama but stopped short of banning alcohol entirely.

England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow tried to defend his headbutt at yesterday’s media conference.

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FURIOUS England bosses have imposed a midnight curfew on players for the rest of the Ashes tour.

Team supremo Andrew Strauss and head coach Trevor Bayliss decided to change the players’ code of conduct after the Jonny Bairstow headbutt row, the UK Sun reports.

There will be a blanket ban on staying out the hotel beyond midnight and any player breaking the curfew would face serious disciplinary action.

Previously, players could socialise beyond midnight on selected evenings after games as long as they told the management.

England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow tried to defend his headbutt at yesterday’s media conference.

The ruling about no alcohol being consumed in the three days leading up to games and during games remains unchanged.

Strauss told the players about the new regulations at a special team meeting on Monday — just hours after they were thrashed in the First Test by ten wickets.

But he decided against a complete booze ban.

Bairstow will escape punishment for his headbutt on Aussie opener Cameron Bancroft on the first night of the tour in Perth on October 29.

The wicketkeeper banged foreheads as a greeting when introduced to Bancroft, who was not upset or hurt but thought it was “weird.”

Cameron Bancroft (left) gave a hilarious account of what transpired between he and Bairstow. Steve Smith (right) was quite amused.

Bayliss only found out about the incident on Sunday evening and could scarcely conceal his anger.

He stormed: “Most people like going out at night for a couple of quiet ones but you’ve got to be careful not to do anything stupid.

“If that means not having anything to drink, then so be it. We make dumb decisions at different times.”

When asked if the players’ behaviour must change, Bayliss added: “That’s what I thought after Bristol (when Ben Stokes brawled in the street).

“They’d be extra dumb and stupid if it didn’t change now.”

CCTV vision of Ben Stokes fighting with two men in a Bristol Street. Picture via The Sun

Bairstow played down the incident and insisted: “Cameron and I enjoyed the evening. There was no intent, nor malice, about anything.

“As you could see on the pitch, there is no animosity between myself, Cameron or any of the other Australian players.

“I hope we can now swipe this underneath the table and continue what is going to be a fantastic series.”

Captain Joe Root believes the incident became public via the stump mics only because Australia took control of the game.

He said: “It came up on the first day Australia have had a good one on the field, four weeks later. If it was a big deal, it would have come out a lot earlier.”

Originally published as Ashes: England cricketers cop midnight curfew but no booze ban