Joe Root denies England team is suffering from drinking culture

The England captain added on Friday that his side are preparing to play the Ashes without Ben Stokes who was arrested following an incident in Bristol last month

'I don’t think there’s a drinking culture in cricket and in our side' (Getty)

Joe Root has denied that there is a drinking culture in the England team as he prepares to lead his side into the Ashes. England fly to Australia this evening without their vice-captain Ben Stokes, who was arrested in Bristol last month on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm, and Root said that England were preparing to play the entire series without their star all-rounder.

“I don’t think there’s a drinking culture in cricket and in our side,” he said at Lord’s. “We will address the issue as a side and make sure situations like this don’t happen again. We are grown men, we know how to behave and we’ll make sure we conduct ourselves well on this tour.”

Stokes has not yet been ruled out of the Ashes, but Root dropped his strongest hint yet that his friend and deputy would not feature. “We’ve got to plan as if he’s not going to be there for the whole series,” he said. “It’s an ongoing investigation. We’re very much in the dark as to what’s happening, as is everyone.”

A decision on whether to replace Stokes as vice-captain will be taken in the coming days, and Root said steps would be taken to make sure incidents like his would “not happen again”. Equally, however, he insisted that England players would be free to go out and socialise in Australia, despite the risk of provocation.

“It is really important to enjoy the downtime we do get,” he said. “And enjoy the whole nature of touring Australia - the atmosphere of the grounds, the nature of the people, and when you go out for food, the banter that might be flying around. Embrace it and enjoy it, because you don’t get many opportunities to go and play in an Ashes series in Australia.”

As for his feelings on Stokes himself, Root remained coy. “That’s between me and Ben, being brutally honest,” he said. “That should stay between us. He’s obviously very disappointed, but I can’t speak for him. It is disappointing that he’s not going to be on the trip, but you have to move forward as a team.”