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Duncan Fletcher's revelations in Behind the Shades
Flintoff: too drunk to throw, let alone catch
Cricinfo staff
October 29, 2007
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'He was in such a state that he could not throw properly'
© Getty Images
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Andrew Flintoff turned up to a practice session on the last Ashes tour 'still under the influence of alcohol' and 'in such a state that he could not throw properly' according to his coach, Duncan Fletcher, in his forthcoming autobiography, Behind the Shades.
Serialised in the Daily Mail, Fletcher's book has exposed Flintoff's drinking as being out of control during England's tour of Australia last winter, never more so than in the one-day series following the Tests.
"It came to my attention that, after one of the one-day matches, Flintoff had spent the whole night drinking with Ian Botham and had only got to bed at 7am the following morning," Fletcher wrote. "We went to Sydney for a vital match against Australia and a fielding practice was arranged for 10am.
"Flintoff turned up still under the influence of alcohol. We were doing one drill called the 'cut and pull' with two groups either side of me, requiring an accurate throw from one side so that I could cut.
"Flintoff was in such a state that he could not throw properly. He had to pass the ball to the bloke next to him to do so."
Ironically England won that game, though a fuming Fletcher challenged Flintoff and asked him: "Why should I not drop you as England captain?" Flintoff didn't respond and after "stewing in his room all day" Fletcher decided against dropping him.
Fletcher also admits that he had doubts about selecting Flintoff as captain for the Ashes, ahead of Andrew Strauss who he believed was Michael Vaughan's "natural successor".
"Yes, he is a fine cricketer and would be influential in any side, but the areas which concerned me were his tactical nous and man management under pressure," Fletcher said. "And there was always going to be a worry about his self-discipline.
"Sadly, I was soon to discover he was unsure of what true leadership is."
Flintoff, who denies he has a drink problem, hasn't commented on Fletcher's revelations and is spending seven weeks in America recuperating from his third ankle operation.
© Cricinfo
 Read Comments (23)
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Personally, flintoff is not such a reliable person after all. Taking into consideration that fletcher is strong enough to accuse flintoff, i agree wholeheartedly with him. This is NOT the first time flintoff has been caught drinking, and Ian botham is not having suck a good influence on him after all.
Posted by motherocker on November 04 2007, 00:14 AM GMT
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There is a time and place for everything. Each one, ultimately, is responsible for their own conduct. Everyone is expected to do their job, regardless of what the media or general public might think.
By not enforcing disciplinary measures when it was necessary, the coach erred. Freddie is not a professional, he has got an uncontrollable drinking problen and should seek treatment. As such, he should bow out now before causing everyone further embarassment.
Posted by umpire on November 01 2007, 20:05 PM GMT
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Its always suspicious when such a big story which could ruin careers don't show up when they happenned but later on make a good selling point for an autobiography. If Flintoff is guilt, he should have been punished then and there, otherwise Fletcher should have kept his mouth shut just like he did until his autobiography's publication. How do we know if its not a publicity stunt?
Posted by inzi_yousaf on October 31 2007, 14:15 PM GMT
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Let's take a step back and think about this....
- did Flintoff act irresponsibly? YES
- did it disrupt the team? YES
- is Fletcher simply telling the truth? YES
I dont see what the big controversy is about?
Fletcher has left from his position and has written a book that tell's the truth behind the story. The real fact of the matter is the old cliche "The truth always hurts" and that Flintoff (and Boycott for that matter) are not happy for this same fact...
Posted by RobMorley on October 31 2007, 12:59 PM GMT
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An afterthought - the problem is general and not restricted to sport. Publishers want scurrilous stuff, preferably about persons in the public eye, to boost publicity and sales and the autobiographer wants to top up his pension fund. A Faustian pact follows. Although it is true that franker accounts than the anodyne accounts published in the past may sometimes be welcome - I would love to see a hatchet job on Don Bradman's personality, as opposed to abilities, for example - this sorts of stuff adds nothing to the public domain apart from a bad smell.
Posted by andrewkeogh on October 31 2007, 11:15 AM GMT
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This is very unedifying stuff. If Flintoff was drunk to the point that he was incapable of functioning as a team member, albeit in a practice session, why didn't Fletcher take the situation very seriously indeed and do something about it. All we gather is that Fletcher thought of dropping Flintoff as captain and then decided not to. A masterpiece of man-management! Take a bow Mr Fletcher. Having failed to act at the time, he then decides to write a self-justifying account with the lurid bits duly serialised in a national 'newspaper', no doubt for a tidy sum. Good riddance Fletcher.
Posted by andrewkeogh on October 31 2007, 11:00 AM GMT
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Ok, Flintoff is a human being and he is rightfully getting punished by his behaviour by having himself sacked from the Captaincy and now by the God due to injuries. We all know how commited a player Flintoff is, all were in glory when he was a Star in the Ashes Victory.Mr Fletcher is just trying to make Big money by generating this kind of news what else is he achieving ??? other than denting Flintoff's confidence. I would say DONT BUY Mr. Fletcher's BOOK.
Posted by Cric_Boss on October 31 2007, 09:57 AM GMT
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this new trend of acting like saints in books is horrible as instead of cashing in these points through books,freddie is the gretest allrounder in the games history and people like fletcher who are linked to many sides even now try to satisfy their failures through picking on players,other than that even if freddie was drunk it was nothing to be published coz what happens in the hotel rooms or off the pitch is something people are interested in,but when on tour we only like the guys on field,fletcher to me is a traitor to get out team matters after spending some wonderful time with,the guy himself freddie.
Posted by h_brett on October 31 2007, 08:56 AM GMT
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This is just part of professional sport....
Player and coach autobiographies have always included this sort on insight into what went on during important stages of their careers.
I think its good that this has happened, it might make players think more closely about their off-field antics, which can only be beneficial to the game of cricket!
Posted by princeofpunjab on October 31 2007, 05:12 AM GMT
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Steve Harmison was a no show in Ashes 2006 , was it not fletcher reluctance of not playing Monty for first two tests cost the series , they score 554 in the second test and still lost. these are figures of Giles in that test
42 7 103 1 .
Why is DAG not saying I as a coach didnt do enough , was it not same freddie who won test match in india under his captaincy when they were almost had no chance.All the critcs of freddie dont mention that he single handedly helped england to level that series.
If he has so many problems with botham why didnt he point while he was still the manager of team and why is he bringing up now.He could have issued a statement Botham please dont not mess my boys how would it feel if as manager you have given a statement during the series and what effect it would be on team , they would know that their coach is no nonsense guy and he is willing to speak his mind for the betterment of the team.
Posted by putrevus on October 30 2007, 13:55 PM GMT
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