Cricketers are always thought of as sports icons. They wield the power to influence and shape young minds. But there have been instances when select few cricketers walked down the wrong path. The fact that they did that under the influence of alcohol makes it even more disheartening. Stay with us to know what Weird Things Cricketers Did after drinking.
StumpsandBails brings to 5 instances where cricketers did weird things post getting drunk:
#5 James Faulkner: Road rash
James Faulkner played his best cricket for Australia between 2013-15. He was the man of the match in the finals of the World Cup in 2015. But it wasn’t always smooth going for the Aussie allrounder. He was once charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in 2013 in Manchester. Faulkner crashed his car driving at Overspeed. Cricket Australia subsequently banned him for 4 games.
#4 Andrew Flintoff: Fredalo incident
Andrew Flintoff was England’s pop-cultural icon. He won them the Ashes after a wait of 18 years. The Fredalo incident took away some sheen from Flintoff though. Flintoff went to a nightclub in the Caribbean during the 2007 World Cup. He got so drunk that he eventually had to be rescued after falling off a pedalo. The fact that he went there drinking post losing a World Cup match against New Zealand made the matters worse. Flintoff had to pay a heavy price as he was stripped from vice-captaincy. He was also banned for a game against Canada.
#3 David Warner punching Joe Root
David Warner before the sandpaper gate scandal was an altogether different beast. He used to get into a scuffle with no second invitation. Warner was almost always ready for a fight. He once punched Joe Root in a bar. There was a war of words exchanged between the two leading to Warner eventually punching Root. Warner was handed a disciplinary ban and was excluded from Australia’s Champions Trophy squad in 2013.
#2 Jesse Ryder: Accident in a brawl
Jesse Ryder was one Kiwi talent who went completely wasted. He suffered primarily owing to his drinking problems. In 2008, Jesse grabbed headlines for injuring his hand while trying to smash a window to enter a toilet in a bar. In 2013, he was involved in a brawl outside a bar, named Aikman in Christchurch. He was almost killed in the skirmish. He was in a coma for 56 hours. Fortunately, Jesse won the battle and was stable later on.
#1 Herschelle Gibbs scored 175 with a hangover
This is probably one of the very incidents where a player took his game a level up under the influence of alcohol. Herschelle Gibbs scored a breathtaking 175 against Australia to help South Africa win a thrilling contest. It is widely regarded as one of the best ODI innings and one of the best ODI games of all time. South Africa chased down a world record score of 438 to win the game. Gibbs later admitted that he was having a hangover when he played that gem of a knock.
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