Andrew Flintoff, the most popular hero in English cricket since Ian Botham, learnt an important lesson yesterday: only winners can drink themselves senseless and get away with it. When reports of the England all-rounder’s latest drunken escapade reached the Sunday newspapers, after England began the World Cup in the Caribbean with a convincing defeat by New Zealand on Friday, he was dropped from the team and stripped of the vice-captaincy.

Yet 18 months earlier, a far more public binge was met with adoration. On September 13, 2005, 25,000 supporters gathered in Trafalgar Square and cheered the England team. The main target of their love — and the man to whom they chanted “you’re p***ed and you know you are” — was Flintoff.

The Lancastrian freely admitted that he had been drinking all night after helping England to regain the Ashes. “To be honest, I’m struggling,” Flintoff said. “I’ve not been to bed yet and the eyes behind these glasses tell a thousand stories.”

Few begrudged him the celebration; he had done moreI than anyone to win the series against Australia. Yet the same newspapers that found his excesses endearing were quick to censure him yesterday when it was revealed that he had been drinking heavily in St Lucia shortly after England lost to New Zealand.

Flintoff, who had been dismissed first ball and had not taken any wickets, visited a nightclub with five other players, who have been fined by England. It is claimed that he then took a pedalo for a paddle in the Caribbean and had to be rescued after capsizing.

As punishment, the England management omitted him from the team to play Canada yesterday and dropped him as vice-captain. Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, compounded the embarrassment by saying that Flintoff had received warnings for indiscretions on England’s disastrous tour to Australia during the winter.

Back home, the Flintoff family closed ranks as criticism of the all-rounder mounted. There was no answer at the mock Georgian townhouse in a secluded, gated community in Bowdon, Cheshire, where the cricketer lives with Rachel, 28, his wife, and children Holly, 2, and Corey, 1.

Flintoff’s parents were in no mood to talk about their son’s drinking habits. Speaking at his smart bungalow in Cottam, near Preston, Lancashire, Colin, Flintoff’s father, said: “I have absolutely nothing to say. I have no comment.” He slammed the door to return to his decorating.

Under Flintoff’s captaincy — standing in for the injured Michael Vaughan — England lost all five Test matches, only the second time a team have been whitewashed in the Ashes. Critics claimed that England were not taking the tour seriously: wives and children were ever-present — rather than arriving only for Christmas, as was the tradition — and some players appeared to be more interested in going to music concerts than playing cricket. Before the first Test, Flintoff took his team to see a U2 concert. This was followed by evenings spent watching Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, Sir Elton John and Noel Gallagher.

Nasser Hussain, the former England captain, said yesterday that Flintoff had been given “three or four warnings” for drinking in Australia. “Enough is enough,” Hussain said. “Well done England for finally having strong management.”

This is not the first time Flintoff has been disciplined. A precocious youngster, he made his England debut aged 20, but was dropped two years later, as he struggled with his weight and lost motivation.

He received a public dressing-down from Bobby Simpson his then county coach at Lancashire, and his management team of Andrew Chandler and Neil Fairbrother gave Flintoff an ultimatum: get fit or forget your career. He worked hard, found his way back into the England team in 2001-02, but struggled for form. Frustrated, he broke down in tears in the England dressing-room.

It took love to turn him around. The next summer, he met Rachel Wools, married her and had two children. It seemed to be the making of him. From being a jack-the-lad in need of discipline, he became Mr Responsibility. He must rediscover his professionalism quickly if England are to make any impact on the World Cup.