Dorothy

Carse, 31, was seen in handcuffs in footage which circulated online after he was arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly following an incident at around 4am on Sunday.

After eight months of repeated infringements and frequent embarrassment, Joe Root’s “robust conversation” with the England Test squad at Lord’s this week has finally ended any uncertainty about the conduct expected of them, with Josh Tongue saying the penny had “100%” dropped after the Test captain “made it clear what he expects from us”.

“We’ve just got to make sure we’re as professional as we can be,” he said. “Obviously things have happened, we need to try and move on and show all the youngsters growing up wanting to play for England that it’s an amazing place to be. I’ve just tried to move on from that [Wellington] situation and focus on the cricket. It’s an absolute privilege to play for England and especially walking out and thousands of people watching you. I want to put in as many performances as I can for England, and win as many games for England as well.”

Last November, Tongue, who was training with England’s white-ball squad in New Zealand ahead of the Ashes, was with Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell at a Wellington nightclub when Brook was punched by a bouncer. The incident, on the night before a one-day international, led to Brook being fined and given a final warning over his conduct and Bethell being cautioned for breaching team rules. Tongue, who was not in the ODI squad, was not disciplined.

Plenty will hinge on the surface at Lord’s and in that respect Root and Babar are not the only men feeling the pinch. Karl McDermott, the MCC’s head groundsman, saw his pitch for the quick‑fire New Zealand Test in June labelled “unsatisfactory” by the match referee and handed a demerit point.