England cricket f lops’ 6am booze shame
ENGLAND’S humbled cricket stars were sent to bed in disgrace by police after drowning their Ashes sorrows with an earlyhours boozing session.
Video taken by coach Graham Thorpe showed captain Joe Root and fast bowler Jimmy Anderson being told off by officers at their hotel.
The incident, in a outdoor bar in Hobart, Tasmania, on Sunday night, epitomised the culture of booze – revealed yesterday by the Daily Mail – on the tour, which saw England thrashed 4-0.
Three of the Australian team joined the two England players for a drinking session that led to police being called to investigate a noise complaint. England’s match had ended at 9.54pm local time.
Police arrived at the Crowne Plaza hotel at around 6am on Monday and reprimanded the party, surrounded by beer bottles, for being ‘too loud’.
A female officer can be heard saying to the sheepishlooking group: ‘Time for bed. Thank you. They [hotel staff] just want to pack up.’ The players left quietly.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said it is investigating how the footage appeared in yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald. In the video, Thorpe said he was filming ‘just for the lawyers’. Sportsmail understands the ECB is furious the incident was filmed and are investigating claims Thorpe was smoking a cigar inside the hotel, against the rules.
Tasmanian police said officers had been called following a complaint about ‘intoxicated’ individuals and no further action will be taken.
The hotel revealed that the noise complaint came from outside the premises. General manager Linda Collins said no one had done anything wrong and staff had not asked the players to leave.
The ECB said the players ‘shared a drink’ in the team areas of the hotel, adding: ‘The England party have apologised for any inconvenience caused.’