Ashes 2025: England's Mid-Series Noosa Break To Be Investigated after 'Excessive Drinking' Claims

Following their Ashes 2025 loss, England's mid-series Noosa break is under scrutiny. ECB MD Rob Key will probe reports of 'excessive drinking' and unprofessional conduct amid criticism of the team's preparation and performance against Australia.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) managing director Rob Key will reportedly investigate England players’ mid-series break in Noosa before the third Test of the ongoing Ashes 2025 series at the Adelaide Oval, which concluded on Sunday, December 21. Ben Stokes-led England’s hopes of winning the Ashes were dashed after suffering their third consecutive defeat of the series.

Heading into the Adelaide Test, England were trailing 0-2 after losing the Perth and Brisbane Tests to Australia, and the series was already slipping away from them. The third Test was crucial for the visitors to keep the series alive, but England suffered another defeat, handing Australia an unassailable 3–0 lead in the five-match series.

Needing 228 runs to chase down the 435-run target on the final day, England bundled out for 352, despite middle-order resistance from Jamie Smith (60), Will Jacks (47), and Brydon Carse (39*), as Australia sealed a comprehensive 82-run victory to retain the Ashes for the third time in a row since 2019.

England’s Noosa Trip Under Scrutiny

With a 10-day break between the conclusion of the second Test and the beginning of the third Test, the England squad, including captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, headed to Noosa in Queensland for a short break before returning to Adelaide for a crucial Test, which ultimately proved decisive in the context of the series.

Despite an 8-wicket defeat at the hands of Australia in a Pink-Ball Test in Brisbane, leaving them trailing 0-2 in the Ashes series, England players decided to take time off from their training and recovery routines to relax in Noosa before returning to Adelaide for the third Test. England’s short break in Noosa, the architect of which was head coach Brendon McCullum, surfaced on social media, with videos and photos of players enjoying beach activities, socialising with each other.

However, following an 82-run defeat in Adelaide and an Ashes series loss, the reports emerged that England players had a ‘stag do’ drinking during their Noosa break, prompting criticism and an ECB investigation into their conduct. Rob Key, ECB managing director, was not part of the trip, but he believed that his players behaved well at an affluent resort in Queensland.

England head coach Brendon McCullum stated that the squad’s trip to Noosa was a planned break for the players to reset and regroup amid a long schedule tour of Australia, which will conclude in January after the fifth and final Test of the ongoing Ashes series at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

England Players ‘Excessive Drinking’ to be Investigated

After the reports of ‘stag do’ drinking by England players during the Noosa trip emerged, ECB managing director Rob Key will investigate the claims and take appropriate action. Key stated that the board would not encourage or tolerate excessive alcohol consumption by international players, though he believed that players behaved well in Noosa.

"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 ESPN Cricinfo.

“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,” he added.

It was not the first time England players have come under scrutiny for their off-field behaviour during the ongoing Ashes tour, with critics and media commentators questioning decisions around preparation, given that the visiting team was struggling throughout the series against Australia.

England skipped the warm-up match against Australia’s Prime Minister XI ahead of the Pink Ball Test, which was slammed by former England captain Michael Vaughan as “amateurish” and widely criticised in the media.

Crossing the Limits Unacceptable

Rob Key further stated that he does not have any issue with the England players taking a short break to recharge, recover, and regroup themselves, but excessive drinking or unprofessional behaviour would be unacceptable and investigated by the ECB. ECB managing director revealed that the board had warned Jacob Bethell and Harry Brook before the Ashes series, after they were filmed drinking before the third ODI between England and New Zealand.

“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." Key said.

“I don't mind players having a glass of wine over dinner. Anything more than that, I think, is ridiculous, really. There wasn't any formal action I didn't feel like that was worthy of formal warnings, but it was probably worthy of informal ones," he added.

England’s Ashes series defeat at the hands of Australia has come under immense scrutiny after the critics and commentators criticised them for a lack of preparation before landing Down Under, with head coach Brendon McCullum admitting that England may not have prepared correctly for the tour and that their build‑up was.

As the Ashes hopes have already been dashed, England have two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney remaining, the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, starting on December 26, and the fifth and final match at the Sydney Cricket Ground in early January, where they will aim to salvage pride from an otherwise disappointing tour.