Broad and Anderson lament ‘extreme and tiresome’ off-field incidents involving England players

‘Mind-numbing that people end up in these positions’
Brydon Carse incident is the latest in a long line

Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson have criticised the “extreme and tiresome” flood of negative stories around the England cricket team’s drinking and socialising habits, with Anderson – England’s all-time leading wicket-taker – saying it is “just mind-numbing that people can still be putting themselves in these positions”.

The latest scandal involving members of the Test squad involved the bowler Brydon Carse, who was pictured being led away from a Derby bar in handcuffs in the early hours of Sunday morning. The 31-year-old was briefly arrested by police on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly before being “de-arrested”, though they continue to investigate an allegation of assault in connection with the incident. Carse was dropped from the squad for the second Test against Pakistan that started at Lord’s on Thursday, but took two wickets for Durham on the first day of their County Championship game against Gloucestershire.