England’s players were granted permission to celebrate becoming the world’s No 1 Twenty20 team with a beer just days after receiving new rules outlawing alcohol on match days.
The booze ban was temporarily lifted by coach Brendon McCullum on Saturday following the completion of a 4-0 series victory over India that saw the two teams switch places at the top of the ICC’s rankings.
Both McCullum and men’s director of cricket Rob Key have the authority to remove the guidance in exceptional circumstances and so the squad were allowed to toast their achievement at the Utilita Bowl, and watch their footballing counterparts with tipples of their choice alongside family and friends in the ground’s on-site hotel.
‘For a start, there’s not many of our guys that actually drink, but anyone that wants a beer can have a beer, yes,’ McCullum said, following the 56-run win.
‘The guidelines are in place. People are very aware of the guidelines. They’ve been sent around. The policy is designed to make sure that people are being looked after and making the right decisions. I trust the players completely. All the information is there.
Harry Brook leads the celebrations in Southampton after England’s 4-0 series drubbing of India
‘You still have to feel the warmth of success and if you are someone that likes a beer, then (this is) a great opportunity to be able to enjoy yourself – as long as it’s sensible, and it’s not to excess – and allow something that you’ve achieved over the last 10 days or so sink in the way that you want it to.
‘But everyone’s very aware of it [the policy] and we’ll have a quiet beer and just let this one land – just as long as no-one lands on the front page.’
Key was forced to re-draft, and indeed strengthen, guidelines that were shared with the limited-overs squad via WhatsApp ahead of their tour to Sri Lanka that preceded the Twenty20 World Cup, because those centrally-contracted players not involved like Ben Stokes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith and Mark Wood did not receive the official letters.
As exclusively revealed by Daily Mail Sport, Stokes’ defence when investigated for being out into the early hours in the aftermath of a Lord’s Test win over New Zealand last month was that he did not believe a midnight curfew – discussed at the end of the Ashes tour – applied once a match was over.
The updated version goes further, extending the non-alcohol advice to more than 24 hours after an international has finished.
England’s next game is the one-day series opener against India at Edgbaston on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, McCullum believes Harry Brook’s late-night misdemeanour in Wellington last autumn hours before an ODI – landing him a £30,000 fine and a final warning about his conduct – could be the making of the 27-year-old, saying: ‘ He’s grown immensely since then, and he’s got a significant future in front of him as a leader in English cricket.’
