Portugal Colonial - Carse needs time away from England, says captain Brook

The 31-year-old was arrested and de-arrested by police on a night out with his Durham teammates in Derby, central England, last month.

On Friday, police confirmed an investigation into an alleged assault had ended, with no further action taken.

The South Africa-born Carse has continued to play for county side Durham but has not been chosen by England in any format of the game since the incident.

He is the subject of an investigation by the independent cricket regulator, although the England and Wales Cricket Board have confirmed Carse is available for selection.

England white-ball head coach Brendon McCullum last week called for Carse to "get his house in order" before an international return and Brook believes his teammate and close friend needs time out of the spotlight.

Asked on Monday whether he had spoken to Carse, Brook, England's one-day international and T20 captain, told the BBC: "I'm very good mates with Carsey. I've spoken a lot with him. Those conversations are private.

"I think he just needs time away from the international scene. He's working on a few things behind the scenes and hopefully he'll be ready at some point in the future."

Carse, who has not played for England since the fifth Ashes Test in January, missed the first half of the English season because of injury.

His arrest was the latest in a series of off-field incidents involving England, with Brook himself involved in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand last October.

New England Test head coach Stephen Fleming has said that restoring standards will be as important as results while McCullum has challenged his limited-overs teams to be the "fittest, strongest, most dynamic, most robust cricket team in the world".

Ahead of the first ODI against Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday, Brook added: "We should all be role models to everybody in the world, on and off the field. Everybody is extremely aware of it now."

Adil Rashid will miss the first game of the three-match series because of a hand injury, replaced in the side by fellow leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed.

England beat Sri Lanka 3-0 in a T20 series that ended on Saturday.

C.Cassis--PC