“There’s not going to be a curfew,” Root confirmed on the Sky Sports cricket podcast. “And I don’t think this needs to be a big deal, to be honest.
“My view on curfews is I don’t think they work. And if you want guys to take responsibility on the field, they’ve got to feel like they can be grown adults and make good, strong decisions off it.
“And that’s for us as a team to manage well and self-police well for me and Flem to manage well in many ways. But ultimately grown adults – you know what it takes to play for England. You know what your responsibilities are off the field. .
“My view on curfews is I don’t think they work. And if you want guys to take responsibility on the field, they’ve got to feel like they can be grown adults and make good, strong decisions off it.”
Joe Root
“We should be known for how we play our cricket and what we do on the field. And we should be on the back page of papers and people reading about that sort of stuff.
“So as much as I’ve got to say on it, that’s be adults, look after yourselves, look after each other. Create a good, strong culture where you know when the right time is to celebrate and enjoy a win or to have a sensible beer or whatever. And remember you’re playing for England.”
A statement released on Wednesday by the ECB confirmed the curfew has been dropped, which will also apply across the white-ball sides under the watch of McCullum and Brook: “We have a Test captain and coach, who are looking at how they set team standards and culture. As part of this, the curfew will no longer be in place. We will ensure all players have a clear understanding of expectations when they come together for the upcoming Test series.”
The atmosphere around the England team at the time was febrile with Stokes missing from that tour of Australia after his involvement in a Bristol street fight earlier that year, before he subsequently cleared of affray the following summer.
