England players have been advised to avoid drinking alcohol the day before and the day after matches, under new behavioral guidelines.

A midnight curfew was introduced after an Ashes tour ruined by off-field problems, but ambiguities around the curfew were a factor in the nightclub controversy involving Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson.

Following that incident, English players were given new guidelines, according to the Telegraph., external.

The updated policy confirms that the midnight curfew is in effect every day of a series at home or on tour.

He also recommends not consuming alcohol the day immediately before, during or immediately after a game. If, for example, a test runs for the full five days, the recommendation is extended to the next day.

The head coach and director of cricket, in this case Brendon McCullum and Rob Key respectively, have the discretion to relax the recommendations when they see fit.

In that way, the hierarchy can allow players the freedom to celebrate a victory or maintain traditions such as an end-of-series drink with the opponent at the end of an Ashes series.

The players were allowed to drink immediately after the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, to mark Stokes’ international retirement.

The recommendations apply only to players, not staff.

If players decide to drink before, during or after games, they should not do so in public.

They have also been strongly discouraged from drinking in private, to aid preparation, recovery and professionalism.

It has not been confirmed whether the guidelines apply only to England’s senior men’s teams or to all England teams, including senior women’s and pathway programmes.

In terms of curfew, there are periods when players would naturally leave the England pitch, either because there is a long gap between matches or because they have been released into their counties. It is unclear whether the curfew will continue to apply.