England’s team director, Rob Key, has defended the squad’s mid-Ashes break in Noosa but confirmed he will investigate claims that excessive drinking by players between the second and third Tests turned the trip into a “glorified stag do.” The comments came ahead of social media footage appearing to show Ben Duckett looking worse for wear during the Queensland stay.
Sitting 3-0 down to Australia with the series already lost, Key and head coach Brendon McCullum have both indicated that their futures now lie with the ECB. A key focus of the post-series review will be whether the four-night Sunshine Coast break adequately prepared the team for the pivotal Adelaide Test. Reports suggest several players spent six days drinking following England’s eight-wicket defeat in Brisbane.
Key stated: “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. I’m not a drinker. Excessive alcohol consumption for an international cricket team is not something I’d expect.” He added that the team had security measures in place and that, according to what he had heard, players mostly had meals and the occasional drink.
An ECB spokesperson commented: “We are aware of content circulating on social media. We have high expectations for behaviour and established processes for when conduct falls below standards. We also support players that need assistance. We will not comment further while the facts are being established.”
Key also noted past incidents, including Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell being photographed drinking during the New Zealand white-ball tour, but emphasized the importance of mid-series breaks given the packed international schedule and intense scrutiny of Test cricket in Australia. “If it goes into where they’re drinking lots and it’s a stag do, that’s completely unacceptable. But I have no issue with Noosa if it was to get away and just throw your phone away, down tools, go on the beach.”
On the cricket itself, Key admitted Australia’s dominance with the ball and acknowledged that some England players may have been persisted with too long in the series. He also suggested that Duckett’s early-season white-ball cricket in New Zealand may have affected performance. Key defended the team’s preparation choices, noting limited options for training in Australia and stressing that access to facilities like the WACA would not have guaranteed a different result.
Regarding his own future and that of McCullum, Key said: “As far as I’m concerned, that’s out of my hands. The decision for the ECB will be whether they want to start again or evolve, and whether we’re the right people to do that. Brendon is an excellent coach. We’ve only lost three Test series in four years. Clearly, we’ve mucked up on the big occasions. There’s plenty of life in this whole thing, but we have to evolve and do things better.”
