Barrington returned to England exhausted after the Australian tour, but had to attend Surrey's pre-season training and social functions that gave him little chance to rest. Gary Sobers returned with the West Indies in 1966 including Charlie Griffith who had been accused of throwing by the Australians Bobby Simpson, Norm O'Neill and Wally Grout. Barrington added fuel to the fire by telling the "Daily Mail" that he thought Griffith was a chucker and that he would refuse to play against him. He had been the target of West Indian fast bowling in 1959–60 and 1963 and saw no reason why he should suffer at the hands of a man who was not playing the game fair. This caused a falling out with the West Indian team as Sobers was satisfied that Griffith had a legitimate action and, after all, he had not been called in 1963.