Cricket was once synonymous with heavy drinking, but modern players rarely touch alcohol before a Test match. However, previous generations became legendary through boozy tales, as Mirror Sport revisits some of the sport's most iconic drinkers.
The late Shane Warne, who died aged 52 from a heart attack, once confessed to consuming '10 pints and chicken and chips' nightly during his playing days. 'I was the renegade,' he said, adding that he smoked, drank, and bowled leg spin without regrets.
England's Andrew Flintoff, a hero of the 2005 Ashes, was known for his celebrations. After a loss to New Zealand in the 2007 World Cup, he drunkenly dragged a pedalo into the water, waking up wet and sandy. Flintoff, now teetotal, admitted his drinking put his wife through hell.
Ian Botham, another England legend, famously smuggled Australian beer onto a flight to India during a 1980s tour. 'We took the precaution of importing as much Aussie beer as we could cram into our hold bags,' he explained, anticipating a lack of decent beer on the subcontinent.
David Boon, the former Australia batsman, is at the centre of one of cricket's most famous drinking tales. On a flight to the 1989 Ashes, he allegedly drank 52 cans of beer, breaking Rod Marsh's record of 51. The pilot reportedly circled Heathrow to give Boon extra time. 'I won't deny it happened,' Boon admitted. 'We all do stupid things.'
