England Stars Forced To Agree to New Rule for Sri Lanka Tour After Ashes Issues
England's cricket stars will be forced to follow a strict new rule in Sri Lanka after they were criticised for disciplinary problems during the Ashes and their tour of New Zealand.
England have come under widespread criticism in recent weeks for their struggles both on and off the pitch.
Between the second and third Test of the Ashes series, the England squad spent four nights on the Queensland coast in the town of Noosa.
Outlets including the BBC have alleged that players spent a significant portion of their time drinking, while a video circulated appearing to show Ben Duckett drunk.
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England went on to lose the series 4-1, meaning their wait for an Ashes series victory in Australia continues.
That was not the only disciplinary issue for England, with Harry Brook involved in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer ahead of a one-day international in New Zealand.
Although he has not been stripped of his role as England's white-ball captain, he was fined around £30,000 and is understood to be on a 'final warning'.
Now, in a bid to instil discipline for their tour of Sri Lanka, England have decided to introduce a strict midnight curfew.
According to the Daily Mail, there will be no formal notification of rules outlining expected behaviour for both the series against Sri Lanka and the Twenty20 World Cup.
However, one guideline players will have to follow is ensuring they return to the team hotel before midnight, unless a later night has been agreed in advance.
It is believed that operating a curfew will help ensure similar incidents do not take place over the coming months.
England will play three one-day internationals in Sri Lanka, with the first on January 22, followed by matches on January 24 and January 27.
After that, they will play three T20 matches as the team completes their final preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
England's World Cup campaign gets underway against Nepal on February 8, before they face the West Indies, Bangladesh and Italy in the group stage.
India are the favourites to win the tournament, while South Africa and Australia are also rated more highly by the bookmakers than England.
England's performance at the World Cup is expected to have a significant impact on the future of head coach Brendon McCullum.
Despite their heavy Ashes defeat, England have opted to give McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key the opportunity to turn things around.
They will hope that implementing stricter discipline helps England during a crucial period of white-ball cricket.
England will not play another Test series until June, when they host New Zealand in a three-match series.
They will also face India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka across a mix of red-ball and white-ball fixtures over the summer.
Topics: Cricket
James Taylor