Some England players have been accused of drinking for six days before losing the third Ashes Test and the series in Adelaide, with their alleged bender described as a ‘glorified stag do’.
After losing the second Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, the Three Lions had nine days to prepare for the contest at Adelaide Oval.
Coach Brendon McCullum caused a stir when he said the side ‘over prepared’ for the Gabba match, and the team were given some time off during a beachside getaway to the popular tourist hotspot of Noosa on Queensland‘s Sunshine Coast.
That break had been planned before the tour began, but it still left experts scratching their heads and made some fans furious, given England’s capitulation in the first two Tests.
At the time, just six days of cricket had been played in the series, and now it has been claimed some members of the touring team got on the drink for the same amount of time prior to the crucial Adelaide clash.
While stars like Ben Stokes and Joe Root spent time with family or worked on their fitness, others allegedly went a completely different route.
Pictured: England stars enjoying some cold beers during their beachside break in Noosa between the second and third Tests
Skipper Ben Stokes is pictured during the Noosa break. It has now been claimed that some Three Lions stars drank on six days – after playing just six days of cricket in their doomed Ashes series up to that point
Pictured: Will Jacks (in hat) with his teammates in Noosa. The break, which was planned before the series began, was harshly criticised after the team’s losses in Perth and Brisbane
‘For others, it was a glorified stag do. Some members of the team followed two days of drinking in Brisbane with four more in Noosa,’ the BBC claimed.
Daily Mail’s exclusive photos of the team lapping up the sun, sand and surf in Noosa showed stars enjoying some cold beers at the popular Rococo Bistro bar, just off the beach.
Mail cricket correspondent Lawrence Booth wrote: ‘[Harry] Brook spent a decent chunk of England’s four-day holiday in Noosa, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, relaxing at the bar with fast bowler Brydon Carse.’
The ECB declined to issue comment to Daily Mail.
The relaxing break didn’t have the desired effect for skipper Ben Stokes and his men, who fell to an 82-run defeat in Adelaide to lose the series in just 11 days of play.
If true, the drinking claim would become part of a long list of horrible errors by the tourists since they arrived in Australia last month.
England – who came Down Under on the back of a white-ball tour of New Zealand – were slammed for choosing to have just one warm-up match on a slow pitch in Perth against what was effectively their second-string side.
Ian Botham said it ‘bordered on arrogance’ before Stokes countered by saying the criticism was coming from ‘has beens’.
Pictured: Scott Boland (left) and his teammates celebrate after he took Josh Tongue’s wicket to win the series for Australia
Will Jacks’ body language when he was dismissed in Adelaide (pictured) summed up how the series has gone for the Lions
Three Lions stars were blasted for playing golf in the lead-up to the first Test, which lasted just two days after the tourists’ awful second innings with the bat set the platform for Travis Head’s stunning, match-turning century.
Their preparations copped a fresh pasting when it was revealed they turned down the offer of playing the Prime Minister’s XI in a pink-ball clash in Canberra before the day/night Test in Brisbane.
After they lost that match, Stokes said Australia is ‘no place for weak men’ in what was interpreted by some – including England great Steve Harmison – as a whack at his own team.
In a post-play press conference in Brisbane, batting coach Marcus Trescothick made the stunning confession that the team had not discussed the perils of driving on the up in Australia, despite the role that cardinal sin played in their demise in Perth.
McCullum then dropped the ‘over-prepared’ bombshell.
‘If anything, we trained too much,’ he said.
‘That’s something as a coach you have to be aware of. Sometimes there is a tendency to overdo things to make up for it.
‘We had five intense training days. When you’re in the heat of the battle, sometimes the most important thing is to feel a little bit fresh and make sure your top two inches is completely sound.
‘We all have to find a way to ensure we feel prepared, physically and technically, but also to make sure we are fresh and can make those decisions in the heat of the games.’
