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Paul Collingwood has been fined £1,000 by the England management team after being caught visiting a lap-dancing bar in between two crucial games in the ICC World Twenty20.
Newspaper reports today revealed the England one-day captain had visited the bar in the early hours of Saturday, just hours after his side had suffered an eight-wicket defeat to Australia and a day before their opening Super Eights reverse to South Africa. In the latter match, Collingwood was dismissed for a first-ball duck as the tournament hosts inflicted a 19-run defeat which severely dented England hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
Those chances suffered a further blow following today's five-run loss to New Zealand and Collingwood, who got up early that morning to play golf, said: "It's obviously unacceptable and I'll have to learn from that.
"The fact is I made a mistake, that's what it comes down to, and what I need to focus on now is a big game tomorrow [England play India] for us.
"I was taken in a car with friends and taken to the bar and got there, had a beer and thought 'I need to get out of this place'."
Asked earlier if he expected censure from the England and Wales Cricket Board about his behaviour, Collingwood said: "I'm not too sure, it's entirely up to them. I've made apologies to them and I realise it was inappropriate to go there and that was my mistake.
"I'm disappointed with myself but hopefully we can quickly get over it and concentrate on this game tomorrow because mathematically we're still hoping we can get through."
His late-night antics overshadowed the start to a key match for England but chasing New Zealand's 164 for nine, they slumped to 159 for eight in reply despite a maiden Twenty20 international half-century from Darren Maddy.
The England management will be disappointed with more ill-judgment from one of their players after the infamous "Fredalo" incident at the World Cup in March.
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Leave the guy alone he was doing what every normal person would do on normal day. The only difference is that he gets followed around by hawking media types. Being a celebrity does not mean he is holy than everyone. Hell if the guy wants a lap dance thats his choice, every bloke would. This world is being taken over by these self rightous types who want to impose their flawed moraliy and so called perfection on us mere mortals.
shawn, newcastle,
England lacked only one essential attribute - brains!
Durbidge, Torbay, UK
Do these guys really care about playing for their country.We seem to have a bunch of drunks living off winning the ashes years ago.Since then what have they done other than disgrace their heritage??
colin, kidderminster,
Typical of the half hearted, laid back, unfocused, indifferent and amateurish way in which we English approach our sport. The cricket and rugby teams ought to be ashamed of their performances in their respective competitions. A country with our resources should be top in any given sport, especially the three main team games - cricket, rugby and football. Instead we are the laughing stock of the sporting world.
We simply won't get to the next stages of the two current world cups we are playing in - it is a disgrace. And our football team is having to pull a rabbit out of a hat to qualify for the Euro champs. What a joke we are.
When you see the Captain of our national cricket side pulling a stunt like this when the team is struggling, well it just makes me sick and ashamed. Has he any pride?
Try being an expat living in southern Africa and see how the Saffers and other ex-colonies delight in our ineptitude. Then it will come home to you just how low we have sunk.
Nigel Turner, Gaborone, Botswana