Faulkner on his 'biggest mistake'

Four months after being named the man of the match in the World Cup final, Australia allrounder James Faulkner hit rock bottom; charged, suspended and left to regret the "biggest mistake of my life".

On July 2 last year, Faulkner was charged by police with drink driving after a "minor" traffic incident in Manchester where he was playing as an overseas professional for Lancashire.

Faulkner was found to be almost three times over the legal blood alcohol limit in the UK, returning a reading of 100 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit in the UK is 35mg.

Faulkner had finished dinner with his Tasmania teammate Tim Paine and decided to drive about 2km home instead of walking in heavy rain.  

"It's definitely the biggest mistake I've made so far in my life," Faulkner told cricket.com.au in Chandigarh.

The punishment was as swift as it was severe.

Faulkner was suspended by Cricket Australia for four matches (three ODIs and one T20I), and was not considered for Australia's limited-overs tour of the UK which followed the Ashes series.

In addition, the allrounder was fined £10,000 (about A$19,000) and banned from driving in the UK for two years after he pleaded guilty to drink driving in the Manchester Magistrates Court a month later.

With the event having stung his pride and his pocket, Faulkner took his medicine and renewed his focus on cricket.

Image Id: ~/media/CBFD661A0CCD402E922C0D62B38F421C Image Caption: Faulkner in action for Lancashire last winter // Getty

"Coming back playing cricket I definitely enjoyed playing the game a lot more. That was one thing that really got me going," Faulkner said.

"The big thing for me was missing international cricket.

"I love playing wherever it is in the world and to miss that (hurt).

"The hardest thing after that … I was coming back in and got injured, I broke my finger.

"It was a long wait for me. It was from the World Cup final, I'm not sure exactly how long but it felt like five years."

Faulkner returned to the Australian side in January 2016 for the five-match one-day series against India.

It had been 10 months since the World Cup final triumph over the Black Caps at the MCG, but when Faulkner returned he was welcomed back with open arms.

"As soon as I walked back into the dressing room it was like I never left," Faulkner said.

"There was a lot of support, a lot of love from my teammates. That was really comforting.

"It was a really nice feeling to have that and hence why we're so tight as a playing group."

Faulkner is not the first player in the Australian camp to suffer a personal setback and come through the other side a better player and person.

Vice-captain David Warner missed the first three Tests of the 2013 Ashes series after his altercation with England batsman Joe Root in a nightclub after an ODI loss in Edgbaston.

Since Warner's return, in the fourth Test of that Ashes series, he has been the most prolific opening batsman in the world, scoring 3,238 runs at 57 with 13 centuries, eight more than the next best Chris Rogers, his former top-order partner.

Allrounder Mitch Marsh and his older brother Shaun were dropped for the Perth Scorchers final Champions League T20 match in South Africa after the youngster's 21st birthday celebrations got out of hand in October 2011.

Marsh described the hiccup as "big learning curve" and something that "certainly changed" him. Four and a half years later, Marsh is the first-choice Test allrounder with 15 matches under his belt.

Image Id: ~/media/319B28C6AE97404688C55A8283654AB1 Image Caption: Faulkner celebrates a wicket in the World Cup final // Getty

While it's only been nine months since he reached his lowest point, Faulkner says he has matured, moved on, and is now determined to perform on the field.

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

"You go through certain waves in your career when things are going well; you're scoring runs, you're taking wickets, everything is just happening for you.

"You go through other patches when you're struggling for runs and wickets.

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

"I think everyone does take certain little aspects, whether it's playing cricket or your outside life, for granted, no doubt about it.

"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."