ECB To Probe England Players’ Excessive Drinking After Ashes Humiliation

England’s managing director of men’s cricket, Rob Key, has said he will investigate the drinking habits of the England team following reports that players may have over-indulged in alcohol during a mid-Ashes beach break.

The comments come after England lost the first three Tests, allowing Australia to retain the Ashes in just 11 days of on-field action, one of the fastest conclusions to the series in recent history.

The scrutiny centres on the squad’s visit to Noosa, a resort town on the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane, which took place between the second and third Tests. The break had been long planned as part of the tour itinerary to help players relax and recover during the gruelling Ashes schedule.

Key, who did not travel with the team to Noosa, said he had no issue with the concept of the break, but would take a firm stance if excessive drinking was confirmed.

‘Excessive Drinking Is Not Acceptable’: Key Issues Warning

Speaking in Melbourne on Tuesday, ahead of the fourth Test starting Friday, Key made it clear that over-indulgence would not be tolerated at the international level.

“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,” Key said.

“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.”

However, Key stressed that initial feedback suggested no wrongdoing, adding, “From everything that I’ve heard so far, they actually were pretty well behaved. Very well behaved.”

“We’ve got enough ways of finding out exactly what happened and everything that I’ve heard so far that they sat down, had lunch, had dinner, didn’t go out late, all of that, had the odd drink,” he added. “I don’t mind that. If it goes past that, then that’s an issue as far as I’m concerned.”

Previous New Zealand Incident Also Reviewed

Key also confirmed that he had previously examined reports of England players drinking the night before a match in New Zealand, shortly before the Ashes series began.

The incident involved a short video clip of white-ball captain Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell, which was shared on social media by a member of the public. The footage was said to have been recorded in Wellington, ahead of the third one-day international on November 1.

“I didn’t feel like that was worthy of formal warnings, but it was probably worthy of informal ones,” Key said. “I think that was a bit of a wake-up call, actually, for what they’re going into. I don’t mind players having a glass of wine over dinner. Anything more than that, I think, is ridiculous, really.”

(With AP Inputs)