The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has opened an investigation into allegations that Ben Stokes and his teammates overindulged in alcohol during their four-day vacation at Noosa in between the second and third Ashes Tests.
After losing the Ashes series pretty handily, the England team is already facing harsh criticism. In just eleven days of cricket, Australia was able to hold onto the coveted Ashes trophy. They took an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series after winning the first three Test matches at Adelaide, Brisbane, and Perth.
Ahead of the third Test, the Three Lions had a four-day vacation to the vacation spot of Noosa as part of their mid-series break. Following claims that the players had engaged in excessive drinking during the expedition, the break—which was strongly denounced by a number of Australian experts—has now come under examination.
Rob Key, the managing director of England, has promised that the subject will be looked into in light of the accusations, stressing that excessive alcohol consumption is inappropriate behaviour for an international cricket team. But according to early accounts, he said, the cricket players behaved properly while on the vacation.
“Of course, we will investigate any claims that our players went out and drank excessively. I wouldn’t anticipate seeing an international cricket team consume excessive amounts of alcohol at any point, and it would be a failure to investigate what transpired there. However, based on what I’ve heard thus far, they were really well-behaved,” Key was cited by Cricinfo.
“I’ve read what has been said in the past day or so, and it’s totally improper if it involves situations where people are drinking excessively and turn into a stag do. I don’t consume alcohol. A drinking culture, in my opinion, is never helpful to anyone. If the Noosa vacation was about getting away, setting your phone aside, putting down your tools, and going to the beach, then I have no problem with it. So far, I’ve heard that they sat down, ate lunch and dinner, avoided staying out late, and occasionally had a drink. That doesn’t bother me. That becomes a problem in my opinion if it goes beyond that,” Key continued.
Brook and Bethell received warnings for drinking while on tour in New Zealand.
Key continued by disclosing that Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell had been warned by the team management after video revealed that they were intoxicated in a pub prior to England’s third One-Day International against New Zealand on November 1 in Wellington. The 46-year-old called it a wake-up call for the kind of scrutiny the team would receive in Australia, rejecting claims that England had undervalued it.
“Players enjoying a glass of wine with supper doesn’t bother me. I find anything beyond that to be rather absurd. No official measures were taken. Key said, “I didn’t think it was worthy of formal warnings, but it was probably worthy of informal ones.”
In the final two Test matches, England will try to regain their honour.
The historic Melbourne Cricket Ground will host the fourth Test match between the long-time foes on Boxing Day. The fifth Test in Sydney, which begins on January 4, will wrap up the series.
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