Rob Key has vowed to investigate England’s drinking episode in Noosa after their defeat in the second Ashes 2025/26 Test.
England’s managing director defended the mid-tour break after the side went down 2-0 following two chastening defeats in Perth and Brisbane. However, with reports now claiming that the players “drank excessively” at the resort town, he ensured that there would be an investigation into what went down in Noosa.
The BBC claimed that the break in Noosa was more like a “glorified stag do”, with some players indulging in six days of drinking after the Gabba loss. The report further added that the English party was in no way concealed, with some even spotted “drinking by the side of the road”.
Key: 'Not what I expect to see'
Key addressed the reports, saying he had heard the players were well-behaved, but it would be “unacceptable” if that wasn’t the case.
“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.”
England have lost the Ashes 2025/26 series already, going into the Boxing Day Test. A whirlwind Perth Test that finished in under two days started things off, followed by another heavy eight-wicket defeat in Brisbane in just over four days. The visitors managed to take the Adelaide Test into the fifth day, but that ended in a defeat too.
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