English granted a boozy Ashes tour
ENGLAND players will be allowed to drink on the Ashes - but have been warned to be sensible.
Head coach Trevor Bayliss said Joe Root's team would be expected to stay off the booze leading into Test matches.
Bayliss knows the team's off-field behaviour will be under the spotlight in Australia following the Ben Stokes punch-up scandal.
He revealed the players spoke among themselves the day before flying from the UK.
There will be no curfews and no alcohol bans - but Bayliss expects the players to self-police and be professional.
He explained: "The players sat down and had a chat. They are the ones who have come up with this.
"There are no set curfews, they are just sensible rulings.
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"To me, it's what we should have been sticking to anyway as players or people around a professional set-up.
"Not drinking between matches is just sensible.
"We certainly don't want to keep players in their rooms because it is a long tour.
"You have to get out and experience what the country you're touring has to offer.
"It's about picking the right time to have a couple of drinks, but knowing to stay away from it if you're preparing for a match."
Bayliss was as frustrated as anybody that all-rounder Stokes is at home waiting to hear whether he will be charged by the police rather than in Australia.
The Aussie coach told BBC Radio's Test Match Special: "It's been a difficult time for everyone.
"It involves everyone, not just the one or two guys that were involved on that night.
"But it's a month ago now and certainly the guys here have been going about their business.
"There hasn't been any chat about it - we're all concentrating on what we need to do to win this series.
"If you lose a player of Ben's calibre will make a difference.
"So we'll have to work out a different combination for the First Test.
"But I'm quite confident we can come up with a team that is more than capable of winning."
