England Test captain Joe Root opened a pre-match news conference this week by expressing frustration, not with the opposition, but with his own players.
Brydon Carse, 31, was dropped from England's squad for the second Test against Pakistan after images appeared on social media showing him in handcuffs outside a bar in Derby on Saturday night. He was briefly arrested and then de-arrested. Carse was not on England duty at the time, having been released to play for Durham, but he holds a central contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Root did not hold back.
"If I'm being brutally honest, I'm really hacked off, I'm really disappointed," Root said in the opening to a news conference. "After last week's performance, we're sat here and we're talking about something that is not related to it at all."
The ECB referred the incident to the Cricket Regulator. Carse was replaced in the squad by Sonny Baker, with the Test scheduled to begin at Lord's on Thursday.
Root said he had spoken directly with Carse following the incident. He described his initial reaction as concern for his teammate as a person rather than as a cricketer.
"I've spoken to Brydon, and when I first found out my main concern was him as a person," Root added. "I don't think I'm speaking out of turn by saying he's very upset, very apologetic and understands his actions. I'm sure that when he gets his chance he will say that himself."
Root made clear, however, that the incident did not exist in isolation. He pointed to a pattern that has developed among England's centrally contracted players over the past year.
"But I don't think it's the isolated incident itself, it's the fact we keep making stupid mistakes away from the game and it's detracting from what we're doing on the field."
According to BBC Sport, the Carse incident is one of several involving contracted England players in recent months. In October, white-ball captain Harry Brook was punched by a bouncer outside a nightclub in Wellington, New Zealand, with Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue also present. During the Ashes tour of Australia, opener Ben Duckett was filmed apparently drunk on England's holiday in Noosa. In June, former Test captain Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson broke a team curfew and were present when a member of England's security staff was punched by a Saracens rugby player at a London nightclub.
In the Derby incident, Carse was with Durham teammates Stokes and Matthew Potts, all three of whom hold central contracts. Stokes' England contract remains active despite his international retirement in June.
In total, eight centrally contracted England players have now been involved in or present for late-night incidents over the past year. That figure represents more than a quarter of the 30 men currently on England deals.
When Root was reappointed as Test captain, he removed the midnight curfew that had been in place under Stokes and Brendon McCullum. He stood by that decision at the news conference, saying he still did not believe a curfew was the right approach, but he acknowledged it would take time for the team to rebuild trust with supporters.
The second Test against Pakistan begins at Lord's on Thursday.
