No booze ban for English cricket team on Ashes tour in Australia

THERE will be no curfews or booze bans for English players during the Ashes tour despite the Ben Stokes street brawl scandal. Instead, Joe Root’s men will be allowed to self-police.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA — NOVEMBER 01: Joe Root of England poses during the 2017/18 England Ashes Squad portrait session at the WACA on November 1, 2017 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

ENGLAND players will be allowed to drink on the Ashes — but have been warned to be sensible.

Head coach Trevor Bayliss said Joe Root’s team would be expected to stay off the booze leading into Test matches.

Bayliss knows the team’s off-field behaviour will be under the spotlight in Australia following the Ben Stokes punch-up scandal.

He revealed the players spoke among themselves the day before flying from the UK.

England captain Joe Root poses with a replica of the Ashes urn.

There will be no curfews and no alcohol bans — but Bayliss expects the players to self-police and be professional.

He explained: “The players sat down and had a chat. They are the ones who have come up with this.

“There are no set curfews, they are just sensible rulings.

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“To me, it’s what we should have been sticking to anyway as players or people around a professional set-up.

“Not drinking between matches is just sensible.

“We certainly don’t want to keep players in their rooms because it is a long tour.

“You have to get out and experience what the country you’re touring has to offer.

“It’s about picking the right time to have a couple of drinks, but knowing to stay away from it if you’re preparing for a match.”

England's Ben Stokes has not made the trip to Australia for the Ashes.

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

Bayliss was as frustrated as anybody that all-rounder Stokes is at home waiting to hear whether he will be charged by the police rather than in Australia.

The Aussie coach told BBC Radio’s Test Match Special: “It’s been a difficult time for everyone.

“It involves everyone, not just the one or two guys that were involved on that night.

“But it’s a month ago now and certainly the guys here have been going about their business.

England's head coach Trevor Bayliss is letting players police themselves when it comes to alcohol consumption.

“There hasn’t been any chat about it — we’re all concentrating on what we need to do to win this series.

“If you lose a player of Ben’s calibre will make a difference.

“So we’ll have to work out a different combination for the First Test.

“But I’m quite confident we can come up with a team that is more than capable of winning.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun

Originally published as No booze ban for English cricket team on Ashes tour in Australia