The England Cricket Board (ECB) has promised to investigate reports of excessive drinking by England players during their recent break in Australia.
ECB Managing Director Rob Key confirmed that the board will look into the matter after English cricketers spent six days at the coastal resort of Noosa, Queensland, following their defeats in the first two Ashes Tests and before the Adelaide Test.
Reports emerged in British and Australian media that England players indulged in heavy drinking throughout their stay at the popular beach destination, raising questions about the team’s professionalism during a crucial tour.
“Stories of players drinking six days solid and that’s unacceptable,” Key told a foreign media outlet. “We’ll be looking into seeing what the facts are as opposed to the things that have been embellished or elaborated on.”
Key explained that the situation requires careful examination. “When you see a picture of five or six guys sitting down for lunch, a couple of them having drinks, you need to see what’s going on with that,” he said.
“Headlines can be misleading at times, saying it’s a stag do and stuff like that,” Key added. “If it’s true that it became a stag do and people are out drinking all the time excessively, that’s not acceptable. I don’t agree with a drinking culture. I don’t like a drinking culture.”
Prior to the Ashes series, Key had urged England’s squad to not “get caught doing stupid things.”
When asked about criticism directed at Head Coach Brendon McCullum following the defeats, Key defended his coach. “McCullum is a good coach and his Test record is strong,” he said.
Australia wrapped up an 82-run victory on day five of the third Test in Adelaide on Sunday to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series and retain the urn. England had already suffered eight-wicket defeats in both Perth and Brisbane before the Adelaide loss.
The fourth Test of the series begins on December 26, in Melbourne, where England will attempt to salvage some pride from a disappointing tour.