England hit by new discipline controversy

England’s troubled Ashes tour has taken another turn for the worse after it emerged Ben Duckett has been suspended following an alcohol-related incident in a Perth bar during a team night out on Thursday.

Duckett was meant to be opening the batting for England in the two-day tour match against a Cricket Australia XI at Richardson Park that started on Saturday.

However, the 23-year-old, who had been drafted in to the team for this match from the England Lions squad that is also in Perth, was stood down on Saturday morning and is now suspended while a disciplinary investigation into his behaviour is carried out.

The fact another player has been drawn into off-the-field controversy is a huge embarrassment for England and is the last thing they needed following the Ben Stokes narrative that has overshadowed the whole tour.

In case you need reminding, Stokes is not playing in the Magellan Ashes after he was arrested and released under police investigation following a late-night brawl outside a Bristol nightclub back in September.

He is currently awaiting the verdict from the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK on whether he will be charged or not.

What is perhaps more troubling for England, though, is the potential that senior players involved in the Ashes could also be drawn into this latest incident, which did not involve any members of the general public or the police.

England’s players – across both the Lions and senior Ashes squad – have been subject to a midnight curfew ever since it emerged Jonny Bairstow headbutted Australia’s Cameron Bancroft in a Perth bar on the very first night of the tour in late October.

That was lifted on Thursday and it is understood Duckett and the rest of the Lions party were joined in the bar by several senior England players, including Bairstow.

Team security were also at the venue and were forced to step in when Duckett poured his drink over the head of a senior England player – reported to be James Anderson – after an argument. The incident was deemed serious enough for both Andy Flower, the former England coach now in charge of the Lions, and Trevor Bayliss, the current coach, to be informed.

Former Test batsman Kevin Pietersen said the tour was fast beocming an "embarrassment".

Andrew Strauss, England’s director of cricket who is now back in London after attending the first Ashes Test at the Gabba, was also informed and along with Flower and Bayliss will pass judgment on Duckett and any other players who may have been involved.

Strauss was forced to deny England’s players were “thugs” after the Bairstow-Bancroft story emerged on the final day of the opening Ashes Test in Brisbane.

Nobody else has yet been implicated in this latest incident but the investigation is trying to establish whether others have breached team discipline protocols.

It will certainly not help dispel the perception that this England set-up has a deep-rooted alcohol problem.

Strauss laid down the law to England’s players when he imposed the curfew after the Brisbane Test, warning everyone that any further disciplinary infractions would be dealt with severely, including the threat of being sent home.

Speaking at the time, Strauss said: “There is no way that you can or should be putting yourself or the team or the ECB or the game of cricket in a position where people are making judgements about the sport on the back of what you’re doing on a night out.

“And that’s what the players need to understand. They have been told about this before.”

But on a tour that is rapidly descending into a tailspin, the negative headlines just keep on coming for England.

2017-18 International Fixtures

Magellan Ashes Series

Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird.

England Test squad: Joe Root (c), James Anderson (vc), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Ben Foakes, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes.

First Test Australia won by 10 wickets. Scorecard

Second Test Australia won by 120 runs (Day-Night). Scorecard

Third Test WACA Ground, December 14-18. Tickets

Fourth Test MCG, December 26-30. Tickets

Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Tickets

Gillette ODI Series v England

First ODI MCG, January 14. Tickets

Second ODI Gabba, January 19. Tickets

Third ODI SCG, January 21. Tickets

Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26. Tickets

Fifth ODI Perth Stadium, January 28. Tickets

Prime Minister's XI

PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Tickets

Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3. Tickets

Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Tickets

Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Tickets

Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21