I tried controlling a pedalo under the influence once. I fell off too. They can be tricky buggers to manoeuvre, you know. It’s all in the rudder action. If you point the gear stick forward, you turn to starboard (or to the right for you non-nautical types) and if you pull the gear stick towards you, you turn to port.

From what I’ve read and heard today, Freddie was clearly turning to port. And whisky. And rum…

A lot has been said about the professionalism, or lack of it, shown by this current England squad since winning the Ashes in 2005 and I think Freddie has been made an example of. He’s one of the senior players in the squad and he should be setting higher standards both on and off the field. There’s nothing wrong with letting off some steam but this latest incident highlights that there’s a serious booze culture within this team that is affecting performance.

Ian Botham says on the BBC Sport website “Did people complain when we won the Ashes in 2005?“. No they didn’t because there wasn’t a competitive cricket match being played 36 hours later. There are plenty of stories of Botham going out the night before a big game and performing the next day but the game has moved on since then. The game is more frenetic. The players need to be fitter and more mentally focused.

I’m disappointed in the news but not overly surprised either. I just hope that this signifies a change in the way the England management deal with things behind the scenes. A lot of people have spent a lot of money to travel to Australia and the West Indies and the players owe it to them to start putting in some professional performances. On and off the park.

According to the news on the BBC website, Andrew Flintoff has been dropped from the England team for todays games against Canada!

Andrew Flintoff has been dropped by England as they take on Canada in a must-win World Cup match in group C.

The vice-captain has been omitted for a breach of team discipline.

The news comes amid reports he fell off a pedalo and got into difficulties in the water, hours after England lost their World Cup opener to New Zealand.

England have refused to comment on the claim but four other players were fined for breaching team discipline after they were seen out drinking.

Blimey! Now I’d read the “reports” that he’d been found half pissed in the sea in his underpants but didn’t believe them to be true but it looks as if Freddie has gone one step too far this time…

Cricket, Cricket World Cup, England, Andrew Flintoff

Today Ireland pulled off the biggest shock in World Cup history by beating Pakistan by three wickets. The defeat means that the much fancied Pakistan team are now out of the competition and Ireland have a very good chance of making the last 8.

It wasn’t a fluke victory by any stretch of the imagination. Ireland outplayed Pakistan in all departments. This came hot on the heels of another stunning result as Bangladesh beat India by 5 wickets.

Canada are playing England tomorrow. Could there be another shock on the cards? You know? Like an England win?

Cricket, Cricket World Cup, Pakistan, Ireland, St Patricks Day

Just a quick post this morning as I’ve been away the last few days and am catching up on my emails in preparation for a lazy day in front of the telly watching cricket.

The Times is running a weekly series of cricket podcasts during the World Cup. The first one is online and features Christopher Martin-Jenkins, Chris Cowdrey, Chris Adams and Shane Warnes gym buddy, Dwayne Leverock - the 19 stone Bermudian spinner.

Have a listen by clicking on this link: The Times Cricket Podcast.

Cricket, Cricket World Cup, Cricket News

I was watching the first hour or so of this earlier today and everything was looking rosy. Vaughny has back in the runs, the Bell End had gone past his fifty and it looked like we might end up with a good score.

Popped out for a couple of hours, come back and we’re all out for 197! What’s the all about? It’s a reverse in form for me, that’s for sure. We normally do better when I’m not watching.

Oh well, it’s only a warm up. It doesn’t mean anything, right?

Right?

Cricket, Cricket World Cup, England, Australia