England cricketer handcuffed after nightclub incident days before Test match

English cricket is embroiled in another drinking episode after Brydon Carse was led away from a nightclub in handcuffs by police.

In a short video circulating on social media, Carse – who is in the England squad for this week’s second Test against Pakistan – is in handcuffs, surrounded by four police officers outside a club, thought to be Molly Malone’s Irish Tavern, in Derby. His Durham and England teammate Matthew Potts is seen trying to talk to Carse, while Ben Stokes also appears at the back of the shot.

Carse is understood to have been briefly detained by police at the scene, but not arrested. He returned to the team hotel soon after. It is unclear exactly what led the police to place him in handcuffs outside the busy nightspot, but Telegraph Sport has been told a drink was spilt on Carse, leading to an exchange of words. The police were not called, but were already outside the club, which said on social media that it shut at 4am on Sunday morning.

A spokesperson for the England and Wales Cricket Board said: “We are aware of an incident which is reported to have taken place in Derby last night, and are currently investigating. We will provide a further update when possible.”

In another video, seen by Telegraph Sport , Carse is taken away from the nightclub and is stood with a police officer and Stokes.

Carse was not on England duty at the time, but he is a centrally contracted player who was in the squad for the first Test against Pakistan at Headingley and who was due to join his teammates on Monday for Thursday’s second match at Lord’s. Therefore, England are “investigating” the matter, which will be handed to their cricket regulator.

Carse had been sent to play for his county Durham at Derby in the County Championship. Division Two leaders Durham pulled off a superb win late on day three, with Stokes to the fore, taking 5-17 as Derbyshire were bowled out for 84 in the second innings. Carse picked up two wickets in the match. Some members of the team went out to celebrate the win in Derby afterwards, when the incident occurred.

This is latest in a string of early-hours incidents involving England cricketers over the past year. The most serious was Harry Brook, the Test vice-captain, being punched by a nightclub bouncer in Wellington, hours before leading England in a one-day international against New Zealand on November 1 last year. During the Ashes, a mid-series break in Noosa caught headlines for players’ drinking.

Most recently, England won the first Test of the summer against New Zealand, with captain Stokes and Gus Atkinson staying out beyond the team’s new midnight curfew. They were stood down for the Oval Test that followed amid a disciplinary process.

Stokes retired at the end of the New Zealand series and was replaced by Joe Root, who had led the Test team between 2017 and 2022. Root’s first act on returning to the job was to ditch the curfew, calling on his players to “be adults”.

Injury has meant Carse has not played a match in any format for England since being their leading wicket-taker in Australia, where he played all five Tests.