Cricket is a gentleman’s game but sometimes things do get ugly on and off the field. On the field controversies are something which becomes the responsibility of the match refree to take care off with fine’s and punishments after the match. But when it comes to off the field controversies, the new breaks on television immediately. Recently former Australia Test cricketer Stuart MacGill was allegedly kidnapped from his home in Sydney last month before being released an hour later and this incident made a lot of headlines round the globe. So in this article, let’s discuss 6 such incidents outside the cricket field which made new instantly.
The first name in the list is of English player, Monty Panesar. Panesar is one of the veterans of the England team and had a very successful stint as a spinner for his side who achieved a lot of success in South Asian pitches. In 2013, he was fined by police after being caught urinating on nightclub bouncers in Brighton. Panesar was charged for being drunk and disorderly behaviour outside the Shooshh club. The Sussex County Club later confirmed in a press conference that such shortcoming did happen from the player and they expressed their displeasure at his actions. They even made an appeal that the investigation for the same was undergoing as per law and nevertheless, Panesar wasted no time in apologising for his deeds.
The second name in the list is of Australian veteran Ricky Ponting. Ponting has been one of the biggest legends, the game has ever seen, in all three formats of the sport. He led the Australian team to two World Cup victories but one of the setbacks in his career came when he returned with a black eye. It was reported by ESPNcricinfo that in 1999, Ponting went to the Bourbon & Beefsteak nightclub in Kings Cross, a few kilometres from the ground and got heavily drunk. He was also involved in a fight later on which gave him the black eye and this remains one of the darkest moments of his cricketing career.
The third name in the list is of another English veteran Andrew Flintoff. Andrew Flintoff wasn’t in the best frame of mind after a dissapointing Ashes whitewash as well as a poor World cup opener defeat under the leadership of Flintoff. His personal performances weren’t something he would be proud of and that ruined his mental space even more. Post this, Flintoff was involved in the infamous pedalo incident in the Caribbean where he attempted to get out of his hotel and find a boat where he thought Ian Botham was sitting. He drank for eight-hours straight before the incident broke out and after it, he was helped on by his teammates to the hotel at St Lucia which made national headlines the next morning.
The fourth name in the list is of Australian all rounder James Faulkner. James had hit the rock bottom of his career when he was caught drunk driving in Manchester by the local police. It was widely reported that Faulkner was found times over the legal blood alcohol limit in the UK, returning a reading of 100 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath when the legal limit in UK was 35mg. Owing to his unethical behaviour, he was fined £10,000 by the UK government and also banned for driving in the United Kingdom for two years. The Australian Cricket Board also took strict action and suspended him for four matches and he wasn’t considered for team selection of the limited over tours of England following the Ashes.
The fifth name in the list is of one of the best all-rounders of modern day cricket, Ben Stokes. In the wee hours of the morning on 25th September 2017, Ben Stokes was arrested for a street brawl outside a night club in the England town of Bristol and was subsequently released under investigation. He was allegedly under the heavy influence of alcohol and as a result he was pulled out of the 4th ODI match against West Indies. It was during that time, that the team for the Ashes series was announced and Ben Stokes’ name figured in the squad. However, he was subsequently removed from the team as the outcome of his legal proceedings were still pending.
The sixth name in the list is of yet another English Player Alex Hales. Along with Ben Stokes, even Hales was allegedly involved in the street brawl incident as both of them were under the influence of alcohol. Later, even after being a crucial member of the 2015 World Cup side, Hales missed the 2019 edition as he had to serve a ban for a second drug test failure. The ban did not necessarily mean him to be out of the tournament, although the England management decided that Hales’ behaviour had constituted complete disregard for team values and was a complete breakdown of trust. He even missed out on a central contract that season owing to this mishap.
