Lehmann, Greg Chappell not fans of curfews

Australian coach Darren Lehmann and selector Greg Chappell don't believe in curfews - the regulation that England will use for the rest of the Ashes.

Darren Lehmann can't envisage a set of circumstances that would prompt him to slap a curfew on Australian cricketers, while Greg Chappell says such regulations are "pretty useless".

England coach Trevor Bayliss floated the prospect of an Ashes curfew following Ben Stokes' brawl outside a Bristol nightclub, when he pondered how best to deal with an increasingly boozy culture among the team.

Bayliss initially decided against an arbitrary bedtime during the five-Test series, instead asking his players to enjoy a drink at the right times and do it sensibly.

But Jonny Bairstow's headbutt of Cameron Bancroft, which occurred shortly after the touring party's long-haul flight landed in Perth then emerged during their loss at the Gabba, has prompted a rethink.

England's director of cricket Andrew Strauss has implemented a midnight curfew on his players for the rest of the tour because of Bairstow's misdeed.

A furious Bayliss declared on Monday his charges would be "extra dumb and stupid" if they didn't improve their behaviour after the storm created by Bairstow.

"I probably should have had a curfew as a player," Australia coach Lehmann joked.

"We wouldn't have curfews but that's our decision and that (having them) is theirs.

"We have faith in the blokes to do the right thing.

"They're grown men, they're adults."

Lehmann's side enjoyed a few celebratory ales in Brisbane after trumping England by 10 wickets.

"You should enjoy your successes. There's no dramas with that. It's just making sure you don't cross the line," he said, having earned widespread praise for helping players relax and enjoy themselves since being appointed in 2013.

"I'm happy with where our blokes sit with that."

Chappell, who played 87 Tests for Australia and is now a selector as well as junior talent manager, suggested curfews were ineffective for several reasons.

"If someone is determined to get out and do silly things they're probably going to do it whether there's a curfew or not," Chappell told radio station SEN.

"Curfews are pretty useless really.

"If you treat people like adults, most of them will behave like adults. Those who don't probably don't last very long."

Former England captain Michael Vaughan sensed Joe Root's side may need to "be treated like schoolkids" to change their "laddish, drinking-culture image".

"If they stay in every night, they will go stir crazy. It is not what I want to see," Vaughan wrote in his column for English newspaper The Telegraph.

"But if it is the only way to stop them damaging the image of the England cricket team, then so be it.

"Why did the Stokes incident not put the shivers up this team?"


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Source: AAP



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