No mercy for player misconduct on New Zealand tour: Angelo Mathews
Skipper pledges that teammates will be punished if found guilty after allegations many national representatives attended late-night drinking parties
Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews on Wednesday promised “no mercy” for any teammates found guilty of misconduct during a disastrous tour of New Zealand after the sports minister raised allegations of drunken behaviour and squabbling.
Dayasiri Jayasekera said he had seen photos of national players at all-night drinking parties just before crucial matches against hosts New Zealand who achieved a virtual clean sweep in the tour that had just ended.
I can promise that there will be no mercy for any member found guilty of misconduct
Mathews, 28, said an official probe had begun into the allegations that players attended parties until 3am or 4am, and of tension within the team and with interim coach Jerome Jayaratne.
“I can't deny or accept that these things happened,” Mathews said at a post-tournament press conference in Colombo.
READ MORE: ‘Scandalous behaviour’: Probe into Sri Lanka’s cricket party boys
“But, I can promise that there will be no mercy for any member found guilty of misconduct.”
He said the team could have done better and admitted the New Zealand tour was “demoralising”.