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Board admits one-match ban was not warranted

Hamilton-Brown reinstated by embarrassed ECB

Cricinfo staff

August 10, 2007

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Rory Hamilton-Brown: back at the helm as the ECB launches an investigation © Getty Images

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Rory Hamilton-Brown has been reinstated as England Under-19 captain after the ECB was forced to make an about-turn, less than a week after it had stripped him of the captaincy and banned him from the first of two Tests against Pakistan.

On Monday, it was reported that Hamilton-Brown had been punished for drinking on the eve of the first Test. He was named in the squad for the second match at Derby, which starts today, but only as a player with Ben Wright continuing as captain.

But this morning the ECB issued a statement which said: "Following an investigation, Rory Hamilton-Brown has been reinstated as captain. Following the original decision taken by the England Under-19 team management there were suggestions that Hamilton-Brown had been involved in purchasing and consuming alcohol. Those suggestions have now proven to be unfounded."

The ECB has launched a full inquiry into the circumstances which led to the initial suspension which was imposed by the team management of John Abrahams and Andy Pick on the morning of the first Test.

Whatever the outcome, board officials are likely to face some embarrassing questions as to how he was so swiftly banned on what now appears to be unsupportable evidence.

In this report earlier Cricinfo suggested that the England and Wales Cricket Board had said Rory Hamilton-Brown had been punished for drinking on the eve of the first Under-19 Test against Pakistan. We accept that no such statement was ever made by the ECB and that our report was not based on fact. We, therefore, unreservedly apologise to both the ECB and to Rory Hamilton-Brown and his family.

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