Rob Key has promised to investigate the drinking habits of the England team, following reports their mid-Ashes beach break resembled a “stag do”.
England’s disappointing showing in Australia, where they have lost each of the first three Tests to surrender the urn in just 11 days of on-field action, has left the ECB’s managing director of men’s cricket with plenty of tough questions to answer.
And one of the most pressing involves the issue of alcohol consumption.
The squad visited the idyllic resort of Noosa between the second and third Tests, a long-planned part of the itinerary designed to help players relax and unwind on a long, intense trip.
A host of TV crews, photographers and reporters followed them to the coast and some of the coverage has focused on the amount of time some individuals spent in bars.
Engand’s managing director Key, who did not join the group in Noosa, insisted he had no problem with the break, but would not be happy if he found evidence of over-indulging.
“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,” he 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. From everything that I’ve heard so far, they actually were pretty well behaved. Very well behaved.”
He continued: “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. I don’t mind that. If it goes past that, then that’s an issue as far as I’m concerned.
“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, all of that stuff. If it goes into where they’re drinking lots and it’s a stag do, all of that type of stuff, that’s completely unacceptable. I’m not a drinker, I think a drinking culture doesn’t help anyone in any stretch whatsoever.”
Key also revealed he had previously looked into reports that players had been spotted drinking the night before a match in New Zealand shortly before the Ashes.
A short clip of white-ball captain Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell was shared by a member of the public on social media, said to have been taken while they were out in Wellington before the third ODI on November 1.
“I didn’t feel like that was worthy of formal warnings, but it was probably worthy of informal ones,” he said.
“There wasn’t any action, like formal action. We’ve had four years where we’ve had none of these issues really, with any of the players, and there’s a whole process that we put in place for stuff like that for what you do if they’re out of line.
“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.”
