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Truant Thorpe gets it in the neck

England expects every man to do his duty -- and if he doesn't, he gets it in the neck, like, hard.

Graham Thorpe Pic: Laurence Griffiths / Allsport

That was the message that went out, when team manager David Graveney fined star batsman Graham Thorpe a whopping 1000 pounds for failing to attend an official function on Wednesday evening.

The England World Cup squad was slated to have dinner with members of Kent CCC, but Thorpe failed to turn up -- and worse, he had no real reason for his no-show.

Graveney promptly let him have it -- with a sledgehammer fine that appears to have driven the point home, not just to Thorpe but the entire squad, that England expects &c.

'It is not the sort of thing we want to happen at this stage,' said Graveney. "The matter was discussed with other members of the management and the captain. Although it had been a very tiring day in practice, he was not injured and we decided that his reasons for not attending were not just insufficient but non-existent.

"It is an absolutely crucial factor in our search for success that we are collective as a team both on and off the pitch. Everyone was aware that the lead-up to the practice matches was busy but that we were committed to functions and coaching. This was a sad incident and I am confident it will not be repeated. Graham has made a full apology to myself and the players and a request that the money goes to charity. As far as we are concerned the matter is closed."

Earlier in the day, England had a full outing out in the middle, with the batsmen being made to chase a simulated 280 run target against their own bowlers, in actual match play conditions, over the full 50 overs. Interestingly, the England batsmen made it with a few overs to spare -- which speaks well of the form of the batsmen, but what it says about the bowling could be quite another story.