The ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) is set to investigate allegations that Ben Stokes and his players indulged in heavy drinking during their mid-Ashes break in Noosa. England suffered their fourth Ashes series defeat in Australia after an 82-run defeat in the third Test in Adelaide.
The England side took a mid-series break before the third Test, embarking on a four-day trip to the holiday resort of Noosa.. The break, which was heavily criticized by several Australian pundits, has since come under scrutiny after reports of players indulging in heavy drinking during the trip.
Amid the allegations, England chief executive Rob Key assured the matter would be investigated and stressed that excessive alcohol consumption was not appropriate behavior for an international cricket team. However, he claimed that initial reports suggested that the players had behaved themselves during the trip.
“If there are things where people are saying that our players have been going out and drinking excessively, then of course we will look into that. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol for an international cricket team is not something I would expect to see at any stage and it would be a failure not to look at what happened there. But from everything I have heard so far they have been very well behaved,” he was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.
Key added that while he is not completely against the presence of alcohol in team culture, bachelor party-like behavior would be completely unacceptable.
“I’ve read what’s been written over the last day and if it gets into a situation where they’re drinking a lot and it happens like the deer, that kind of thing is totally unacceptable. I’m not a drinker. I don’t think a culture of drinking helps anyone in any situation,” he said.
“I don’t have a problem with the Noosa trip as far as getting away, putting the phone down, putting the tools down, going to the beach. All I’ve heard so far is that they sat down, had lunch, dinner, stayed out late and had the odd drink. I don’t mind that. If it goes beyond that, then I think it becomes a problem,” added Key.
Bethell, Brook were warned against drinking
Key also revealed that Jacob Bethell and Harry Brook had earlier been warned by the team management ahead of the series after footage emerged of them drinking in a bar on the eve of England’s third ODI in New Zealand. He said the incident had served as a “wake-up call” to the level of scrutiny the team would face in Australia and dismissed suggestions England had underestimated it.
“I don’t mind players having a glass of wine with dinner. Anything more than that I think is quite ridiculous really. No formal action was taken. I didn’t feel it was worthy of a formal warning, but it was probably worthy of informal ones,” he explained.
Meanwhile, after their defeat in Adelaide, England’s losing streak in Australia has now stretched to four Tests. Their last win on Australian soil came in 2011 when they retained the Ashes with a 3-1 series win under Andrew Strauss. Since then, England have played 18 Test matches in Australia, losing 16 of them, with two rain-affected draws.
With two matches left in the series, Ben Stokes and his team will be desperate to salvage some pride and end their long losing streak in Australia. If they fail to do so, they could suffer a 5-0 whitewash for the fourth time in Ashes history.
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Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
December 23, 2025
