A professional cricket player has pleaded guilty to three driving offences at the end of a night out following the inter-insular cricket match at the start of this month.

25-year-old Nicholas Greenwood lives in New Zealand where he plays for Wellington, but visits Jersey regularly to play cricket, the Magistrate’s Court heard.

In the Magistrate’s Court today, Greenwood admitted driving without insurance, failing to provide a specimen for analysis, and failing to comply with traffic directions.

In the early hours of 8 June, another driver saw his vehicle with no headlights and going down a one-way street the wrong way, the court heard.

By the time police arrived, the car was parked in the street, and Mr Greenwood was in a nearby property.

Centenier Shirley Madden, prosecuting, said he had “white spittle in the corner of his mouth” and fell down stairs.

After several failed attempts at testing him for alcohol, he was taken to the police station, where he failed to provide a sample.

In interview, he said that after playing cricket, his team headed into town for drinks, and that he remembered going to the Royal Yacht and the Square, where he had “a few” lagers and Guinness, and a coke.

He said he didn’t know he needed insurance to drive in Jersey.

Centenier Madden said: “Mr Greenwood regrets the whole ordeal and is suffering from anxiety now due to it.”

Advocate Julia-Anne Dix, defending, said he had made arrangements to stay in Jersey for as long as he needed, but that he was due to start a new contract with Wellington cricket in September.

Greenwood “fully accepts” that the offences have passed the custodial threshold, she added.

Advocate Dix said that, should Greenwood get a community service order, he wouldn’t be able to complete this in New Zealand, and that it wouldn’t be possible to finish it before September.

She added that if Greenwood isn’t able to return to New Zealand by early September, his club has said they wouldn’t renew his contract.

“He has accepted he is likely to lose his contract and that is likely to have an effect on his future career,” she said.

Greenwood was released on bail and is due to return to court in July.

Relief Magistrate David Le Cornu, who described the matter as “serious”, gave Greenwood an interim disqualification from driving.