England cricket chief Rob Key vows to investigate reports of excessive drinking by players during a mid-Ashes beach trip to Noosa.
MELBOURNE: England’s cricket chief Rob Key has pledged to investigate reports that players drank excessively during a mid-Ashes beach break.
The team visited the Queensland tourist destination of Noosa after heavy defeats in the first two Tests in Perth and Brisbane.
Britain’s Daily Telegraph reported some players drank for five or six days, describing the atmosphere as akin to a “stag-do”.
“If there’s things where people are saying that our players went out and drank excessively, then of course we’ll be looking into that,” Key told media in Melbourne.
He stated that drinking excessive alcohol is not something he expects from an international team at any stage.
Key admitted he had no issue with the trip if it was to relax, but said a drinking-focused “stag-do” was completely unacceptable.
“From everything that I’ve heard so far, they actually were pretty well behaved. Very well behaved,” he added.
The managing director also revealed he had previously looked into reports of players drinking the night before a match in New Zealand.
“I didn’t feel like that was worthy of formal warnings, but it was probably worthy of informal ones,” Key said.
He backed head coach Brendon McCullum despite England losing the Ashes in just 11 playing days.
Key acknowledged the team has “mucked up on the big occasions” and stated they must evolve and do things better.
The fate of both McCullum and Key now rests with the England and Wales Cricket Board.
