The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) launched an investigation into reports of excessive alcohol consumption by Ben Stokes and the other members of his
team during their four-day break at Noosa between the second and third Ashes Tests.
The England team is already being heavily criticised after losing the Ashes series rather tamely. Australia needed just 11 days of cricket to retain the prestigious Ashes urn. They won the first three Tests in Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
The Three Lions took a mid-series break ahead of the third Test and went on a four-day trip to the holiday resort of Noosa. The break, which was heavily condemned by several Australian experts, has since come under scrutiny after reports appeared claiming that the players had indulged in excessive drinking during the excursion.
Amid the allegations, England’s managing director, Rob Key, has assured that the matter will be investigated, emphasising that consuming too much alcohol is not appropriate behaviour for an international cricket team. However, he stated that, as per preliminary reports, the cricketers were well-behaved during the trip.
“If there are 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 failure not to look into what happened there. But from everything that I’ve heard so far, they were very well behaved,” Key was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.
“I’ve read what’s been written in the last day or so, and if it goes into a situation where they’re drinking heavily and it becomes like a stag do, that sort of thing is completely unacceptable. I’m not a drinker. I think a drinking culture doesn’t help anyone in any situation whatsoever. I have no issue with the Noosa trip if it was about getting away, putting your phone aside, downing tools, going to the beach. Everything that I’ve heard so far is that they sat down, had lunch, had dinner, didn’t go out late, and had the odd drink. I don’t mind that. If it goes beyond that, then that becomes an issue as far as I’m concerned,” Key added.
Bethell, Brook were warned for drinking during New Zealand tour
Key went on to reveal that the team management had cautioned Jacob Bethell and Harry Brook after footage showed that they were drinking at a bar ahead of England's third ODI against New Zealand in Wellington on November 1. The 46-year-old denied suggestions that England had underestimated it and instead described it as a wake-up call for the level of scrutiny the team would face Down Under.
“I don’t mind players having a glass of wine over dinner. Anything more than that, I think, is really quite ridiculous. There wasn’t any formal action taken. I didn’t feel that it was worthy of formal warnings, but it was probably worthy of informal ones,” Key explained.
England will look to salvage pride in the two Test matches remaining. The action resumes on Boxing Day as the age-old rivals lock horns to play the fourth Test at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. The series will conclude with the fifth Test in Sydney, starting on January 4.
