Fast bowler Stuart Broad caused yet more anguish for a beleaguered England Cricket Board by missing a sponsors' engagement after a marathon drinking session.
Broad, an ambassador for England Test backers Investec, failed to show up for the launch of the upcoming New Zealand series at Investec's London headquarters onThursday. It is understood Broad had a night on the tiles with two of his old England team-mates - former all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and wicketkeeper Matt Prior.
A receptionist at the hotel where Broad was staying revealed he had returned from his night out at 7am - and was in no fit state to represent the national team at the sponsors' function starting two-and-a-half hours later. This left Broad's England team-mate Ian Bell having to fill all the England-related media engagements on his own.
Broad's partner in crime Flintoff tweeted about the booze fest the following morning but his comments have since been deleted. Broad's agent Neil Fairbrother told the organisers his client was 'unwell and suffering from a migraine'.
Broad is entitled to enjoy his rare time off during a gruelling schedule, but not when it impacts upon England's reputation.
This latest incident has occurred with the image of cricket's ruling body at an all-time low after their inept handling of the Kevin Pietersen affair. New director of cricket Andrew Strauss is sure to be highly unimpressed after an opening week from hell in his new role.
When he first took over the England captaincy, Strauss said: 'You want to see players think on their feet, taking responsibility.
'The only way we can do that is to give them more responsibility off the field as well. I am challenging my players to start thinking more about what they need to do in terms of preparation.'
An ECB spokeswoman said: 'Stuart Broad was scheduled to appear as an ambassador for a personal sponsor but was unable to attend. We were told it was due to illness.'
