Cricketers are always in the buzz be it for their performances on the field or due to their controversies off the field . Among them there were cricketers who were victims of alcoholism and this had a negative impact on their careers. Let’s look at 5 big names in the cricketing world who were found drunk on the field.
1) Andrew Flintoff ( England) – Freddie Flintoff as he is commonly known as was one of the finest all rounders to have played this game . Along with his contributions on the field, Freddie was also known for his activities outside the 22 yards . In the Jonathan Ross show ,when he was questioned that was he ever drunk on a cricket field , Flintoff corrected the reporter that the question actually should have been “ was he ever sober? “
2) Bobby Peel ( England ) – Bobby peel was a left-arm spin bowler from Yorkshire who was very handy with the bat too. In a county match played between Yorkshire and Middlesex in 1897, Bobby was found drunk on the 3rd day of the test match . He was later suspended by Yorkshire cricket because of his unprofessional behaviour
3) Andrew Symonds (Australia) – Andrew Symonds was a gifted player who was part of the golden period of Australian cricket . He is a two time world cup winner and was an impactful player. In 2005, before an ODI match against Bangladesh, Symonds lost his consciousness and slipped in the practice nets as he was drunk . Australian captain R. Ponting was furious with this behavior as he himself was a man of discipline. As a penalty , Symonds was later suspended from playing the next match which made him really upset.
4) Sir Gary Sobers (West Indies )– Sir Gary Sobers was a pillar of the deadly West Indian team of the 80’s . He played 96 test matches and scored 8032 runs at a healthy average of 57. He also picked 235 wickets. In an interview in lords, Sir Gary Sobers made a shocking revelation that he was not very “Sober” while playing his last test match where he scored a brilliant 150 for ages to remember
5) Herschelle Gibbs (South Africa) – Herschelle Gibbs was a stylish batsman of the early 21st century. He played a vital role for South Africa in the most successful run chase ever in the history of the game till date by scoring 175 runs which had blown the Australians away in the match . Gibbs played some great knocks under pressure at the opening of the innings and helped him team win from nowhere in many situations. In his autobiography “ To the point” , Gibbs revealed that there were many incidents where he went on to batting after consuming alcohol . He was not aware of the situation around him when he went on to bat but still managed to score tons of runs for his country.
Some of these players attracted attention towards them and also found success on the field due to alcoholism but also created a bad image and reputation which impacted their careers to some extent.
