England's most talismanic cricketer, Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff, has been stripped of the vice-captaincy and banned for one match after being involved in a drunken, 4am escapade on a pedalo.
Flintoff, who had been on an eight-hour drinking spree with team-mates after England had lost their first match in the World Cup, had to be helped by staff at a five-star hotel in St Lucia after he fell into the rough waters of the Caribbean Sea.
Yesterday, England coach Duncan Fletcher revealed Flintoff, who was captain for England's disastrous 5-0 Ashes defeat in Australia, had been warned and disciplined for previous similar misdemeanours.
A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said: "Andrew Flintoff has been given warnings about his conduct and discipline for previous incidents of this nature. In light of this, and due to the serious nature of the incident in which he was involved at the hotel on Friday night, we have decided to take further disciplinary action against him.
"Andrew has been made fully aware of the team management's concerns and the fact the ECB considers this type of behaviour to be totally unacceptable."
Nasser Hussain, a former England captain, added: "There is a history to this story. It is not the first time. In Australia he had three or four warnings about his drinking. The management felt enough is enough."
The 29-year-old all-rounder's fall from grace has been sudden and spectacular. Eighteen months ago, the reaction was largely tolerant when Flintoff went on a 24-hour bender to celebrate a 2-1 victory in the 2005 Ashes. The team stayed up all night drinking, before taking a boozy, open-top bus ride to Trafalgar Square and slurring their way through celebrations at Downing Street. Three months later Flintoff was named BBC sports personality of the year.
But the dream turned sour in Australia this winter and the management's tolerance of his erratic behaviour reached breaking point after Friday's defeat at the hands of New Zealand.
Hours after the setback, Flintoff, who had been caught first ball, and a group of England players were seen by holidaymakers drinking the night away at the Rumours nightclub in the island's Rodney Bay area.
It is thought disgruntled fans, disappointed by England's performances, tipped off newspapers and forced a response from the team management when Fletcher and tour manager Phil Neale heard of the incidents at breakfast.
Flintoff will be available for England's final group match against Kenya on Saturday but will not be considered as replacement captain if Vaughan's injury problems return.
To compound a miserable day for England, five other players - James Anderson, Ian Bell, Jon Lewis, Paul Nixon and Liam Plunkett - were fined for breaching team discipline by returning late from the nightclub.
But it was Flintoff's involvement that was most damaging to the reputation of English cricket.
Although one of his Lancashire team-mates once said "Freddied" was a description of a heavy night, he is regarded as an ambassador for the game.
