England Cricket's managing director Rob Key has revealed that the ECB will look into claims of excessive drinking by the England squad on their trip to Noosa. Ben Stokes and Co opted for a 4-day trip to the beach city following their loss in the 2nd Test in Brisbane. Now, following their loss in Adelaide, reports have emerged that several England stars engaged in heavy drinking during the leisure trip.
The reports have drawn sharp reactions given England are staring at a 5-0 whitewash. The Australians have suffered with injury, but have still retained the Ashes in just 11 days.
“If there's things where people are saying that our players went out and drank excessively, then of course we'll be looking into that. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol for an international cricket team is not something that I'd expect to see at any stage, and it would be a fault not to look into what happened there. But from everything that I've heard so far, they were very well behaved,” Key told reporters at the MCG on Tuesday.
Following the loss in Adelaide, reports emerged likening the trip to a stag do. Videos emerged of players frequenting bars regularly with claims of 6 days of binge drinking emerging. Key said he would investigate the claims to establish whether any action was necessary.
“I've read what's been written in the last day or so, and if it goes into where they're drinking lots and it's a stag do, all that type of stuff, that's completely unacceptable. I have no issue with the Noosa trip if it was to get away and just throw your phone away, down tools, go on the beach… Everything that I've heard so far is that they sat down, had lunch, had dinner, didn't go out late, had the odd drink. I don't mind that," he added.
What was dubbed as a potentially era-defining tour has instead prompted another phase of reflection for English cricket, after consecutive defeats in Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide. With the Ashes already lost, England's immediate goal is to minimise the damage, starting with the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
(With IANS inputs)
