{"id":415,"date":"2025-12-24T14:53:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T09:23:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/?post_type=news&p=415"},"modified":"2026-01-23T18:31:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T13:01:41","slug":"ecb-investigates-england-player-drinking","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/news\/ecb-investigates-england-player-drinking\/","title":{"rendered":"ECB Investigates England Player Drinking During Ashes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has launched an investigation into allegations of excessive drinking by England players during the ongoing Ashes series<\/a>, following reports surrounding the team\u2019s mid-series break in Noosa, Queensland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The controversy has emerged at a difficult time for England, who have already lost the Ashes after falling 3-0 behind Australia in just 11 days of cricket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

England\u2019s squad spent four nights in Noosa between the second and third Tests, a break that had been planned before the tour began. However, multiple media reports, including from the BBC, claimed that some players were drinking heavily during their stay, as well as on previous days in Brisbane, where the second Test was played.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation escalated after a video circulated on social media appearing to show England opener Ben Duckett in an intoxicated state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the footage has not been independently verified, it attracted widespread attention and sparked criticism amid England\u2019s struggles on the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

England director of cricket Rob Key confirmed that the ECB is now working to establish the facts behind the claims. Speaking to BBC Sport, Key said the board would separate reality from exaggeration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be looking into seeing what the facts are as opposed to the things that have been embellished or elaborated on<\/strong>,\u201d he stated.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also criticised some media narratives, adding, \u201cHeadlines can be misleading at times, saying it\u2019s a stag do and stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public images fuel scrutiny<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Photos and footage of players drinking in public areas in Noosa further intensified the debate. According to Key, context is important when judging such images. \u201cWhen you see a picture of five or six guys sitting down for lunch, a couple of them having drinks, you need to see what\u2019s going on with that,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite defending players\u2019 right to relax, Key reiterated his stance against excessive drinking. \u201cIf it\u2019s true that it became a stag do, and people are out drinking all the time excessively, that\u2019s not acceptable. I don\u2019t agree with a drinking culture,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not everyone agrees with the criticism. Former Australia batter and head coach Darren Lehmann, who spent time with some England players in Noosa, strongly defended them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to ABC Radio, Lehmann said the reports were exaggerated. \u201cThey were actually really well behaved. They mixed with the locals and had a good time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ECB\u2019s past experiences and player welfare<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is not the first time the ECB has faced questions about player conduct. Rob Key revealed that white-ball captain Harry Brook and batter Jacob Bethell were previously given informal warnings after being seen drinking the night before an ODI in New Zealand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere wasn\u2019t any formal action,\u201d Key said, noting that the incident served as a reminder of professional standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, Key stressed the importance of mental and physical recovery. Several England players, including Brook, Duckett, and Jofra Archer, are set to spend long periods away from home due to packed international schedules. \u201cHarry Brook is going to only be at home for six days this entire winter,\u201d Key explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happens next?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The ECB will now assess evidence and reports before deciding whether any action is required. While Rob Key maintains that rest breaks are essential, he remains firm on standards. \u201cDrinking excessive amounts of alcohol for an international cricket team is not something that I\u2019d expect to see,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As England attempts to salvage pride in the remaining Tests, the focus will not only be on performances on the field, but also on professionalism and discipline off it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":416,"template":"","tags":[225,223,224],"ppma_author":[493],"class_list":["post-415","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ashes-2025","tag-ecb-investigation","tag-ecb-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cricbex.com\/story\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}