ECB is likely to impose stricter regulations on England team for Sri Lanka tour and T20 WC 2026.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is considering imposing a stringent curfew on players following worries about binge drinking and off-field conduct during England's catastrophic Ashes tour to Australia.
The Ashes, which England lost 1-4, prompted a thorough internal investigation, with team culture now under intense examination.
Reports from Australia depicted an ominous picture. England's campaign was overshadowed by reports of excessive drinking, frequent casino visits, and a lack of discipline off the field. One especially devastating report is that between the second and third tests in Brisbane, members of the touring party spent six days partying, in scenes reminiscent of a "stag do."
The England team slept at Crown Towers, an opulent hotel inside a large casino complex, according to a different report from The Telegraph, which added more fuel to the fire. According to reports, players were regularly spotted in front of spectators and other customers at gambling tables and pubs.
And as a result, The Times has reported that the move to impose a curfew on England players is being considered in advance of the T20 World Cup, which takes place in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8, as well as England's forthcoming white-ball trip to Sri Lanka.
The difficulties seem to predate the Ashes themselves. England's white-ball tour of New Zealand was considered the tipping point for the formation of bad habits, with discipline reportedly sliding even before Ben Stokes came to Australia.
The problem was exacerbated by the revelation that ODI captain Harry Brook had been involved in an argument just weeks before the Ashes started.
As part of a broader reset, the ECB is mulling stronger limits, such as curfews and increased supervision. It would not be unprecedented.
ECB had imposed curfew during the 2017–18 Ashes after the Jonny Bairstow–Cameron Bancroft incident and again following Stokes’ Bristol nightclub brawl. Ironically, Stokes himself scrapped curfews after becoming captain in 2022.
England plays three ODIs and three T20Is in Sri Lanka from January 22 to February 3 before beginning their T20 World Cup campaign on February 8 against Nepal in Mumbai.