Many Cricketers around the world are seen getting addicted to alcohol, and several off-the-field incidents from the past and present have left scars in the career of great players. It was back in 1999, when all the fingers were pointed at Ricky Ponting, who got involved in a bar brawl at a bar in Sydney which left him unconscious.
Following India’s exit from the 2012 ICC World T20, players like Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma and Ashish Nehra were involved in a heated exchange of words at a bar in St.Lucia.
Left-handed batsman from New Zealand Jesse Ryder was hospitalised after being beaten up by few men after a fight broke out at Aikman’s Bar in Christchurch. Apart from these cases, there have been a few instances where cricketers have taken the field while drunk which affected them in different ways.
Let us have a look at 5 Cricketers who showed effects of drunkenness on the cricket field:
1) Gary Sobers (West Indies)
Gary Sobers is a legend in its true sense and is widely regarded as the “Greatest all-rounder” ever to play the game. Recently turned 80, he displayed some phenomenal performances during his playing days with equal dominance in both batting and bowing.
He played 93 Test matches for West Indies, scoring a massive 8032 runs at a healthy average of 57.78 along 26 centuries. The left-armer was highly impressive with his bowling, picking up 235 wickets throughout his career.
The shocking incident which was very unlike him was revealed by the great man during an interview at Lord’s where it was learnt there was a match in which Sobers was not “sober”. He admitted that he was intoxicated during his last Test at Lord’s but still managed to score an unbeaten 150-run innings.
2) Andrew Symonds (Australia)
Andrew Symonds was a very influential all-rounder and a hard hitter in its literal meaning. He had the ability to demolish any bowling attack into pieces. The Birmingham-born Australian cricketer was a handy off-spinner too and enjoyed a memorable ODI career, having played 198 matches, scoring 5088 runs which include 6 centuries. On top of that, the off-spinner clinched 133 wickets for the baggy greens.
Prior to Australia’s ODI match against Bangladesh back in 2005, Andrew Symonds was found to be drunk and also fell over at the training nets. Australian skipper Ricky Ponting was furious about the incident. The Tasmanian said, "Those warm-ups started with some gentle leg swings, but after four or five swings in the batting group, Symonds moved away from us and headed for the other set of players"
"He based himself on the edge of that group and leaned against a wheelie bin that was on the edge of the field. As he did so he fell over” he added.
#3 Bobby Peel (England):
Bobby Peel was a former English cricketer who represented his national side regularly during 1884 to 1896. The left-arm spinner played 20 matches for the Three Lions and picked up 101 wickets. Apart from his successful bowling figures, he was quite useful with the willow as well. The left-handed middle order gave support to the batting line-up.
Another thing Peel was famous for was his addiction to alcohol. During the county match for Yorkshire back in 1897 against Middlesex at Sheffield, he appeared to be drunk on the field during the third day. After the day’s play, the officials of the team suspended Peel for rest of the season on grounds of “presenting himself on the field in a state of intoxication.”
#4 Wasim Raja (Pakistan)
Wasim Raja was a gifted all-rounder who played for Pakistan for a considerable period of time. The Multan-born southpaw was a wonder with his strokeplay and his leg-breaks were more than useful. His effective Test career spanned 57 Tests in which he scored 2821 runs and picked up 51 wickets. While the 1975 Cricket World Cup was going on, Raja scored a match-winning half-century against West Indies.
Though, the one thing for which he will not be remembered was the “drunk” incident which took place in the Test match at Karachi, where he got his first Test century. During that match, while fielding on the boundary line, Wasim agitated the crowd by threatening to unzip his trousers on the field.
Later, the Urdu press informed that the Pakistani was drunk when he took the field. In spite of scoring a century, the match did not end well for him; he fractured his right leg when Clive Lloyd's pull shot hit Wasim.
#5 Andrew Flintoff (England)
Andrew Flintoff was one of the top all-rounders during his era, as well as one of the most controversial cricketers on the Cricket field. His heroics with the ball during the famous 2005 Ashes win is never to be forgotten. The Lancashire-born cricketer played 79 Tests for the Three Lions and scored 3845 runs at an average of 31.77 which includes 5 tons. Andrew Flintoff and controversies went hand-in-hand.
As per the reports of Speaking on tonight's Jonathan Ross Show on ITV, the flamboyant personality was asked if he had ever gone on to a pitch drunk which he replied with a joke and said, “I think the question is, was I ever sober?”
Commenting on the question, the 38-year-old recalled a test against South Africa where he scored his second test hundred and said, “I played a Test match against South Africa and we were getting beat... I was next in to bat the next morning so I had one in the bar... then we had two or three. It was Stella, the strong stuff, and the captain said, 'Get to bed'.”
He added, “He started to have a go at me. I said, 'Look, mate, I'll get you 100 tomorrow.' I went out to bat, I was stinking but the pressure was on and I ended up getting my second 100 in Test cricket. There were so many times it didn't come off.”
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
