Stung by Stokes, England to stay ‘sober’
Theprospectofhavingto playtheAshesserieswithoutstar all-rounderBenStokes,arrested followingalatenightbust-upoutsideapub,seemstohavesobered up his team mates.
England cricketers landed in Australiaanddecidedonself-policing in the series starting on November23.Theyhavetakena pledge not to drink from 2-3 days before a match and also honour aninformalcurfew.Andplayers have agreed to inform security officers and allow them to provide an escort if any player left the team hotel after dinner.
EnglandcoachTrevorBayliss’ lenient approach on players has been questioned in the wake of the Stokes incident. His team mateAlexHaleswaswiththeallrounder when the incident happened outside a Bristol pub in September.
Bayliss felt no stringent regulation can work unless players show discipline. “It doesn’t matter if you have rules and regulations andcurfews. In the end, it’s
MUMBAI:
theplayers’ownchoice,whether they break a rule or work things out for themselves.
“The players have sat down, had a bit of a chat and come up withafewsmallrulesandregulations, and a belief or agreement amongthemselvesthattheywill bedoingtherightthingandlooking after themselves,” he was quoted as saying by The Tele- graph, London.
Bayliss said it wasimpractical to expect the players to stay off drink for the entire tour. “There will be times when they are able togooutandhaveafewbeers.It’s a long tour; you can’t be cooped up in a hotel room for four months. It’s acaseofbeingsensible and professional…”
Stokeswaschargedwithcaus- ingactualbodilyharmtoaperson outside a pub in Bristol on September 24. He was handed an indefinite ban by the England Cricket Boardafter avideo of his having an altercation with anotherpersonemerged.Bayliss said: “One of the things is reinforcingthatiftheydogoout,they need to let security know where they’re going.”