Michael Vaughan: Some England cricketers are behaving like students - send them home
Michael Vaughan has accused some of England’s cricketers of “going out like students” in Australia and warned that offenders will have to be “sent home” if they refuse to exercise restraint.
The former England captain was commenting after Ben Duckett was fined £1,500 and given a final warning for pouring a drink over Jimmy Anderson.
“When your team’s under surveillance, to think you’ve gone back to the same bar where the [Jonny] Bairstow [headbutt] incident happened - the first night you’re back in town - it’s just stupid,” Vaughan said.
“You can’t fathom the mentality of people, in the team room having a quiz night, going - right we’re going out, we’ve found a venue and it’s The Avenue Bar.
“As much as I think it’s trivial - lads have always gone out drinking, and sometimes it brings teams together - there are more problems with the cricketing side of this tour, which have been overshadowed by the off-field stuff.
“I look at the cricket side, and there’s a problem. The off-field stuff is grabbing headlines, and rightly so. The problem with incidents like Jonny’s and the one that happened the other day, you have to look at the whole group as one.
The majority of this England team are very professional. They train as well as I’ve ever seen an England team train. But you have one or two bad eggs in the group.
Let’s be honest, they act like students when they go out. They’re England cricketers. That’s what England have got to put right. The cultural side of what cricket is in terms of the alcohol - I do think that needs to change.”
All in Perth acknowledge that the Ben Stokes affair changed the dynamic for players on this Ashes tour, and the debate has now widened to how players occupy themselves on long trips.
“I think it’s a job for the game,” Vaughan said. “It [cricket] has always had the feeling that we drink a lot. As soon as the game finishes, we get stuck in. I think the way they drink these days is different. I think they’ve gone into the world of what students do - big trays of shots.
“In terms of the game, it’s important we don’t talk about what we did and say it was great, because it wasn’t, the majority of the time. We were unprofessional for the majority of our playing days. We went out too much.”
Vaughan was aghast that Duckett behaved as he did 36 hours before a tour game. He said: “They’re in a world now where the game’s faster, there’s more money at stake, there’s everything there for the player. I look at Ben Duckett and his mentality, where he’s playing for England on a Saturday - this is a chance. Pour a drink over anyone’s head if you want, but you’re playing for England on Saturday.
“You’re not in the England team. If you go out and get 150, England are 2-0 down in the Ashes and we’re all talking about the batting. Where is his mentality at that he wants to be out that late when he’s playing for England. Where is his mindset to think that’s right?
“One or two other players are out of the team. What are they thinking going out on a Thursday night? They’ve been sat on the sidelines for three weeks. If Trevor Bayliss [the England coach] feels he’s got to get rid of a few people, that’s what he’s got to do.”
“I’ve never agreed with curfews, but if that’s the only way they can keep these players in, they’ll have to keep it around the team for a while. It’s not the right thing, because you want people to act like human beings, but if you can’t trust them to act like human beings you’ve got to bring your curfew in.
“I do think the punishment’s got to be a bit stronger now. It’s come to the stage where every England cricketer needs to be sat in a room and told - yeah, do what you want, but if you bring any bad publicity on the team, the surveillance will be on you, so any small incident will be a big one - you’ll just get sent home.
“I hope in their own groups they are quite embarrassed about what’s being written about them. It’s like the Fredalo incident - I was quite embarrassed by it. It just didn’t look good on us all. Ben Duckett’s a young kid. I would question the senior players who were in the bar that night. They are the role models all those young players should be looking up to.
“It’s the ultimate crime to go back to the place where the last crime took place. And it winds me up when I hear people blaming social media. Social media didn’t pour a pint over someone’s head. It’s an easy excuse.
“The perception of this England team is that they drink and they party too much. There’s only one way to deal with it. Don’t do it. And don’t do it for a period. They’re going to have to earn the trust of the supporters. The majority of people back home will think - come on, guys, we’re 2-0 down in an Ashes series, let’s be reasonable.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/...an-england-cricketers-behaving-like-students/
