It's the biggest mistake I've made so far in my life: James Faulkner

Former Lancashire overseas player and Australian all-rounder James Faulkner has admitted drink driving was the worst mistake of his life. He pleaded guilty to drink driving after colliding with a BMW in West Didsbury on July 2.

He was found to be almost three times over the legal limit having been out for dinner with fellow Australian cricketer Tim Paine, was slapped with a £10,000 fine and was banned from the roads for two years at Manchester Magistrates Court.

Faulkner registered a reading of 100 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath after a minor traffic incident during his time with Lancashire last season. The legal limit in the UK is 35 micrograms per 100 millilitres. Faulkner was handed a $AUD 19,000 fine

Faulkner was with the Emirates Old Trafford club last season, helping them win the NatWest T20 Blast and secure promotion back to Division One of the County Championship.

Faulkner also faced the ‘on-field’ consequences of the act after he was banned by Cricket Australia for the one-day and T20 international series against England and for Lancashire’s big T20 clash with Yorkshire at Emirates Old Trafford.

“It’s definitely the biggest mistake I’ve made so far in my life,” said Faulkner.

The Tasmania cricketer returned to the Australian team in January for India’s limited overs tour. He says he has matured in the nine months since the “biggest mistake” of his life and is now focused on producing his best cricket.

“It was definitely a wake-up call,” he said.

“A lot of it is just about growing up as a person as well.”

“I’ve put it behind me and at the moment, it’s just about playing cricket and trying to play as well as I can.”

Also, read – We will play positive cricket tonight: Suresh Raina