England director of cricket Rob Key has confirmed that reports of a ‘stag-do’ culture and players drinking ‘excessively’ during the Ashes will be investigated.
The situation has rapidly gone from bad to worse for Ben Stokes’ men Down Under, with hosts Australia claiming an unassailable 3-0 lead after three Tests to successfully retain the urn.
The five-match series had been built up as a possible battle for the ages, but there has been a stark contrast in quality and resilience shown by the two age-old rivals.
This is despite the fact Australia were without their captain, Pat Cummins, for the first two Tests. Steve Smith also missed out in Adelaide through illness, while Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out for the remainder of the series due to an Achilles injury.
Widespread reports of England’s players drinking for ‘a significant portion’ of their downtime in Noosa, between the second and third Tests, have only intensified the level of scrutiny on the already under-fire touring side.
With the contest effectively over after just 11 days of action, Key has vowed to oversee an investigation into what exactly happened during the squad’s four nights in the Queensland beach town.
‘Headlines can be misleading at times, saying it’s a stag do and stuff like that,’ Key told BBC Sport.
‘Stories of players drinking six days solid – that’s unacceptable.
‘We’ll be looking into seeing what the facts are as opposed to the things that have been embellished or elaborated on.’
After England’s eight-wicket drubbing in Brisbane, pictures of Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Will Jacks, Zak Crawley and Gus Atkinson enjoying drinks together on the main high street in Noosa received widespread coverage in Australia.
Without knowing the precise details of that specific meet-up, Key was keen to reassure fans that he would get to the bottom of any instances where drinking may have strayed into what could be deemed ‘excessive’ and ‘unacceptable’.
Where has it all gone so wrong for England?
Before the series got underway, Stuart Broad suggested Australia’s team could be the worst they had fielded since as far back as 2010. Now imagine how dire the situation would be for England if Pat Cummins and Co were actually any good…
A magnificent bowling display on day one in Perth is now just a distant memory for England. Despite being in a dominant position at lunch on the second day at Optus Stadium, the tourists somehow surrendered the match before stumps. Work that one out.
Since then, Australia – inspired in large part by the brilliant Mitchell Starc and Travis Head – have been relentless in crushing any sense of optimism that may have remained for the visitors, holding firm to survive a late scare and win the Adelaide Test.
Stokes’ side have failed to recover from the trauma of their capitulation in the first Test. Joe Root’s resplendent century in Brisbane and Jofra Archer’s exceptional Adelaide display have provided some respite for the Barmy Army, who have been unwavering with their support Down Under. They will, though, go down as nothing more than footnotes in the annals of history.
Patience will undoubtedly wear thin should it come to light that an unacceptable drinking culture exists. Supporters are more than willing to turn a blind eye to players enjoying themselves and slurping away on the odd Fosters in a beachside bar… as long as the team is winning.
Granted, it was always going to be a mammoth task for this side, with England losing 16 of their 18 contests since their last victory on Australian soil in 2011. But they have not helped themselves with their preparation – or lack of – before the series, and their questionable attitude both on and off the field is being used as another stick to beat them with.
It’s been a sobering experience for Brendon McCullum thus far, but a messy boozing scandal could prove to be the final straw for Bazball, with England playing for pride in Melbourne and Sydney.
‘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,’ the ex-England and Kent batter 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.’
It’s not the first time eyebrows have been raised surrounding questionable boozing habits inside the England camp, with white-ball captain Brook and Jacob Bethell reportedly filmed drinking the night before an ODI clash with New Zealand prior to the Ashes.
‘I didn’t feel like that was worthy of formal warnings, but it was probably worthy of informal ones,’ Key said of last month’s incident in Wellington.
‘There wasn’t any 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.
‘That was a bit of a wake-up call 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.’
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