England’s cricketers apologised on Wednesday after some team members were seen urinating on the field at The Oval as they celebrated the Ashes series victory over Australia.
The fifth and final Ashes test at The Oval in south London was drawn on Sunday, giving England a 3-0 series win and sparking late-night celebrations.
As England players drank beer, Australian journalists in the ground reported seeing some of them urinating on the field.
“The England cricket team would like to state that during our celebrations after winning the Ashes at no time was there any intention to disrespect Surrey CCC (County Cricket Club), The Oval or anyone else involved in the game we love,” the team said in a statement released by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
“We got carried away amongst the euphoria of winning such a prestigious series and accept that some of our behaviour was inappropriate,” the statement said. “If that has caused any offense to anyone we apologize for that and want to reassure people that it was a simple error of judgment more than anything else.”
It was the latest alcohol-fuelled incident involving England and the Australians in recent months.
In June, England batsman Joe Root was punched by Australian counterpart David Warner in a bar in Birmingham. The Australia batsman made a public apology to Root and was sent to tour with Australia “A” before returning to England for the third test.
Earlier this month, England spinner Monty Panesar was given a fixed penalty notice by police for being “drunk and disorderly” following a late-night incident. Panesar was ejected from a nightclub in Brighton, and then urinated in public.
