Rob Key set to take a closer look at England’s drinking in Noosa after admitting England had “mucked up on the big occasions”.
Ashes fallout: Rob Key to investigate whether England’s drinking went too far in Noosa.
Rob Key called heavy drinking “completely unacceptable” for an international cricket team and promised to look into the behaviour of England players during their mid-Ashes break in Noosa.
Following their eight-wicket loss in the second Test at the Gabba, England headed to the wealthy resort town of Noosa on the Queensland coast for a four-night stay that the squad emphasised was a “mid-series break” rather than a “holiday”. The trip’s architect, Brendon McCullum, described it as “excellent” and suggested it will give England a fresh start for the third Test.
Key, the managing director of England, stated that he thought his players had been “very well behaved” but did not visit Noosa. However, after their following 82-run loss in Adelaide, reports have likened the trip to a stag do. Key stated at the MCG on Tuesday that he will “look into what happened” to ascertain whether any additional action is necessary.
“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 said. “Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol for an international cricket team is not something that I’d expect to see at any stage, and it would be a fault not to look into what happened there. But from everything that I’ve heard so far, they were very well behaved.
“I’ve read what’s been written in the last day or so, and if it goes into where they’re drinking lots and it’s a stag do, all that type of stuff, that’s completely unacceptable. I’m not a drinker. I think a drinking culture doesn’t help anyone in any stretch whatsoever.
“I have no issue with the Noosa trip if it was to get away and just throw your phone away, down tools, go on the beach… Everything that I’ve heard so far is that they sat down, had lunch, had dinner, didn’t go out late, had the odd drink. I don’t mind that. If it goes past that, then that’s an issue as far as I’m concerned… There’s lots of people there that might disagree with that, but that’s what we’ll find out.”