England will investigate reports of Ashes drinking

Wednesday, 24 December 2025 03:28 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

BBC: England will investigate reports of players drinking excessively during a break from the Ashes series in the beach town of Noosa.

The England squad spent four nights on the Queensland coast between the second and third Tests.

Several media outlets, including the BBC, reported that some players were drinking for a significant portion of their time in Noosa, as well as on two previous days in Brisbane, the venue for the second Test.

Although England produced an improved performance in the third Test in Adelaide, Australia won to take an unassailable 3-0 lead and retain the Ashes in only 11 days of cricket.

“Headlines can be misleading at times, saying it’s a stag do and stuff like that,” England director of cricket Rob 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.”

The break in Noosa was arranged before the tour and went ahead despite England falling 2-0 behind after two Tests.

While the entire squad were present in Noosa, former Kent and England batter Key was in another part of Queensland.

Players were told to expect media attention and were captured by TV cameras and photographers.

That included shots of some players drinking at an outside table of a bar on the main high street in the town.

“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,” said Key.

“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.”

Former Australia batter and Head Coach Darren Lehmann told Australian radio station ABC he spent time with some England players in Noosa.

“They were actually really well behaved. They mixed with the locals and had a good time,” he said.

“The reports of them on a stag do are just wrong. I will defend them there.

“They played golf, swam on the beach and played soccer with the locals - they were liked by the locals.

“I will defend them a little bit because it is a little bit out of order. I didn’t see a stag do. I saw people just relaxing and enjoying Noosa for what it is.”