Party is over for cricket's sore boozers
Cricketers can forget about quiet drinks and expect to be pestered and provoked by a variety of irritating people wherever they go
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Cricketers can forget about quiet drinks and expect to be pestered and provoked by a variety of irritating people wherever they go. It is an inevitable consequence of cricket's increasing profile and profits, writes Andy Bull in the Guardian.
Sadly, modern cricketers will need to be PR savvy as well as professional. As with Premier League footballers, well-paid cricketers will find that every molehill of a misdemeanour is a potential mountain. The ramifications of Symonds' bust-up are no longer just a sore head and a short suspension; players now have responsibilities to their sponsors and the brands they represent. Whether they like it or not, they will have to alter their public behaviour to avoid being mired in scandal. From now on, Boon's beer record could be as untouchable as the Don's batting average.
George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo