From Ponting's black eye to Boon's 52 cans of beer in one flight: A history of Aussie boozing and bust-ups

David Warner's unprovoked attack on Joe Root has heaped shame on the Aussies ahead of the Ashes, but it's certainly not the first time the tourists have courted controversy after a few beers. 

Sportsmail takes a look at the Antipodeans' chequered history, including Rod Marsh, David Boon, Ricky Ponting... and even Sir Ian Botham. 

IAN BOTHAM v IAN CHAPPELL

The pair clashed in a Melbourne hotel bar in 1977 after Botham, an uncapped 21-year-old, repeatedly asked Chappell to stop criticising England. When the Australian continued, Botham hit him. 

The feud has continued to this day and during the 2010 Ashes they had to be pulled apart after a furious bust-up during the Adelaide Test.

DAVID BOON

Boon's booze binge on the flight to England for the 1989 series has gone down in Ashes legend. Yet Boon refuses to confirm it: 'Never spoke about it, never will.' Team-mates suggest he drank 52 cans of beer, beating Walters's record of 44 on the 1977 trip to England. 

He left the plane unaided but was perhaps lucky not to be asked questions at the press conference after the squad landed.

RICKY PONTING

In 1998 Ponting, 23, was fined following an incident in a Calcutta nightclub but he hit an all-time low 10 months later when he suffered a black eye and was knocked out in a Sydney bar the night after Australia lost to England. 

He was dropped from the one-day side to face Sri Lanka a day later. ‘I’m very, very embarrassed about this whole situation,’ he said. ‘On occasions I’ve drunk too much. I intend to overcome this problem.’

ANDREW SYMONDS

The talented all-rounder and self-styled heavy drinker was sent home two days before the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup in England. 

He had gone to a bar to celebrate a rugby league victory. Ironically, the team management group which sent him home was headed by Ricky Ponting.

DOUG WALTERS & ROD MARSH

The renowned big drinkers decided to celebrate the successful 1973 tour of the West Indies by downing as many cans of beer as possible on the flight back to Australia. 

Walters remembers suggesting 25 each but Marsh told him: ‘It's a 30-hour flight — we’ll have 35 (cans).' But there was a problem. 'They ran out of beer,' said Walters. 'We had to count spirits and all sorts.'