No drinking culture, declares Strauss

Andrew Strauss has denied there is a drinking culture within the England squad and says perceptions that the players are thugs is wrong following revelations Jonny Bairstow head-butted Australia’s Cameron Bancroft.

England’s Director of Cricket clarified that the late-night incident in a Perth bar on October 29 – the day the squad arrived in Australia – was “innocent” and that Bairstow “bumped” heads with Bancroft in what he described as “a greeting thing that he does with his mates”.

Strauss added: “He assured me there was no malice, no intent, no aggression in what he did. And, although I’m somewhat surprised he would choose to do such a thing, I’m taking him at his word.

“As such, I don’t think it would appropriate for us to be launching disciplinary proceedings against him.”

Yet in a meeting with England’s players at the team hotel in Brisbane on Monday evening, Strauss laid down the law and informed the players that they will be subject to a midnight curfew for the remainder of the Ashes tour. Any transgressions will be dealt with severely, including the threat of being sent home for repeat offenders.

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

This latest piece of off-field controversy is the last thing England needed after Ben Stokes was arrested and released under police investigation following a late-night brawl outside a Bristol nightclub back in September.

Stokes has been left grounded in the UK while his team-mates take on Australia in the Magellan Ashes series.

Strauss confirmed there is no update on whether the all-rounder will join the squad in Australia, with the England & Wales Cricket Board still awaiting the outcome of the investigation into the incident, which took place during a one-day series against West Indies, by Avon and Somerset Police.

However, suspicions that the squad is out of control have not been helped by the incident involving Bairstow and Bancroft and it’s a perception Strauss is keen to dismiss.

“These guys are not thugs,” he said. “These are good, honest, hard-working cricketers who sacrifice a lot to play for England. They’ve done some great things in an England shirt and I will back them on that to the hilt because I know them.

“But the perception of them and the reality is different at the moment and we’ve got to take steps to make sure that reality is what people perceive of the England cricket team, not something different.”

Asked whether the team had a drinking problem, Strauss answered: “I think it is unrealistic to saying to someone you’re going on a five-month tour and you can’t have a drop of alcohol.

“There was no curfew on that night. But it is worth saying that they had security with them. Nothing untoward happened at any time.

“They were all well-behaved, they weren’t inebriated, they’d had a couple of beers. That’s why it wasn’t an issue for us. That’s why I didn’t hear about it, our security guys were comfortable because it was a very quiet night out.

“That is the reason it has been a complete non-event up until now. No-one knew about it because they didn’t do anything wrong and this situation has somewhat surprised all of us.”

Strauss refused the opportunity to blame the Australian team or media for ramping up an issue that captain Joe Root has described as “making a mountain out of a molehill”.

“No, this is an incident of our own making,” he admitted. “No-one is under-playing this. The last thing any of us want is to be in the news for the wrong reasons and I will clearly be reminding the players of their obligations.

“I think the players need to be smarter. That’s the reality, they are adults, intelligent adults, and at times they are not using that intelligence in the right way.

“It is a distraction to the team and none of us want that distraction.

“Certainly, in light of the Ben Stokes situation, there is attention on us that there wasn’t previously and we need to move with that.

“There is so much less opportunity to be incognito. The guys need to understand that.  It’s really simple – if you’re not putting yourself in a position to be shot down, then you’re going to be fine.”

2017-18 International Fixtures

Magellan Ashes Series

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

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 Adelaide Oval, December 2-6 (Day-Night). Tickets

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