Harry Brook and rest of England squad - (Source: AFP)
In a significant development, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has put a media ban on centrally contracted players. The decision has come days after Harry Brook-led side's exit from T20 World Cup semis.
A report from Chris Stocks of TheIpaper stated that the apex cricket board of England has barred centrally contracted players from giving any interviews and speaking to reporters during their upcoming county stints.
“They are our players so they’ll speak when on England duty,” one of the ECB source remarked speaking to TheIPaper.
Ashes 2025-26 Horror Behind ECB's decision
Many might be wondering that England had a great World Cup and why have the players been punished. However, the reality is different and the board is still miffed by the horror show down under where England lost the Ashes 1-4.
England drew a massive backlash and head coach Brendon McCullum nearly lost his job as well in the process. However, in the latest events, the board has sent a circular to all county teams to cancel pre-arranged media interactions.
The issue first came to light when Shoaib Bashir, who was part of England's squad for 2025 Ashes, had an interview scheduled but the interaction was cancelled last minute.
Harry Brook's Bouncer Incident And Drinking-Gate Key Reason Behind Ban
Besides the on-field horror in Australia, England were surrounded in controversy mostly for their off-field actions. For the unversed, Harry Brook landed in hot waters after he fought with bouncer outside a night-club.
The 26-year-old player was trying to enter a nightclub and got into a fight with the bouncer. The star player was later fined around £30,000 by the England and Wales Cricket Board and received a final warning over his conduct.
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Notably, ECB were again under the scanner after several players got into excessive drinking in long breaks between two Test matches. Several videos floated on social media such as Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell being under heavy influence of alcohol.
ECB Got Into Trouble With England's Action In Australia
The videos were circulated on social media and ECB director was forced to open an inquiry into the incident.
"If there’s things where people are saying that our players went out and drank excessively then of course we’ll be looking into that. I’m not a drinker. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol for an international cricket team is not something that I’d expect to see at any stage," remarked ECB managing director Rob Key speaking to the media.
It is expected that in some time, ECB will hold a key press conference where they will address these topics. Therefore, till that, the board has issued a media ban on players who will play county cricket.
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