England Drop Flintoff After Booze Session

England drop Flintoff after booze session Robert Dineen England have dropped Andrew Flintoff, their captain in the Ashes series, after an alleged drinking session which culiminated in him falling into the Caribbean from a pedalo in the early hours of Saturday morning. Michael Vaughan, the England captain, said that a number of players have been disciplined but only Flintoff has been dropped for today's match against Canada, presumably because the side's management have lost patience with Flintoff's carousing. The Lancashire all-rounder has also been sacked as vice-captain during the World Cup and will not be considered for the captaincy should Michael Vaughan be unavailable to play. Ravi Bopara, the promising Essex player, has replaced him in the line-up for England's second match in Group C, against Canada. Reports from the Caribbean suggested Flintoff had been seen drinking in the early hours before the New Zealand game and that he had been warned for his drinking on the Ashes tour. "The conduct of the players who have been disciplined was unacceptable and falls below the high standards of behaviour required of England cricketers," David Collier, chief executive of the ECB, said. "We fully support the England team management's decision to deal with this issue promptly and fines levied on the players concerned will be donated to the Cricket Foundation's charity, Chance to Shine." Flintoff was one of six players to be fined yesterday by Duncan Fletcher, the coach, after they stayed out until the early hours at the Rumours nightclub near to the team hotel. The other players disciplined were James Anderson, Ian Bell, Paul Nixon and Liam Plunkett - all of whom were included for today's match - and Jon Lewis. Fletcher also confirmed that Flintoff, who famously enjoyed an all-night drinking session after the 2005 Ashes win and turned up drunk to a reception with the Prime Minister at Downing Street, had been given warnings in the past about his behaviour. "Andrew Flintoff has been given warnings about his conduct and disciplined for previous incidents of this nature," Fletcher said. "In light of this and due to the serious nature of the incident which he was involved in at the hotel on Friday night, we have decided to take further disciplinary action against him. "Andrew has been made fully aware of the team management's concerns and the fact that the ECB considers this type of behaviour to be totally unacceptable. He will remain with the World Cup squad and be available for selection for our next match against Kenya. "All players involved wish to express their sincere regret for the embarrassment caused to their team- mates, the England supporters and the ECB." "Something of a drinking culture has crept back into the side," said . "Freddie dragged six or seven players out with him on this occasion and the management said enough is enough." Nasser Hussain, the former England captain, claimed Flintoff had been given “three or four warnings about his drinking” prior to him being dropped. Hussain, England captain between 1999 and 2003, said: “There is a history to this story. It is not the first time. In Australia he had three or four warnings about his drinking,” he said. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article1532732.ece .

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