England captain Ben Stokes’ dream of winning an Ashes on Australian soil vanished as fast as the pint of beers his players gulped down while they were outclassed by an underpowered Australia. The England team’s behaviour in-between games on Australia tour is under the scanner. The England Cricket Board (ECB) has already launched a thorough investigation, a post-mortem of the 4-1 defeat. While many things are often brushed under the carpet when the team is winning, players are expected to bear the brunt of their lack of fight in Australia, failing to regain the urn again.
What happens in Perth, doesn’t stay in Perth
As per a report by The Telegraph, England had opted to stay at Crown Towers, a casino complex. They did not play a warm-up game against an Australian side and decided to have an intra-squad game ahead of Perth Test. As the Ashes opener ended within two days, the players had enough time at hand to visit the casinos.
At one point, England's highest wicket-taker on the tour, Brydon Carse accidentally lost thousands of dollars in cash. The money was in the air and common folk at the cafe, English cricket journalists helped collect and return it to the English pacer.
The report claimed that one of the English cricketers stayed up after hours to watch Premier League football in one of the places that were open till late in Perth.
The booze ride started in New Zealand
However, the England cricketers’ behaviour was under the scanner even before captain Ben Stokes landed in Australia. England white-ball captain Harry Brook had a drunken escapade. He was punched by a bouncer after an argument. He self-reported the accident and was let off with a warning in addition to a 30,000 pounds worth of fine. On the tour, England lost all three ODIs comprehensively. Few England batters were having a leisure time in New Zealand while a few bowlers had joined England Lions in Perth. It was also reported that a senior player was found overweight. But, he wasn’t the only one who did not meet the fitness standards. While Stokes was training like a ‘beast’ as Duckett described, others were far from it.
And the Noosa trip
After the defeat at The Gabba, the team had a four-day Noosa trip, a resort town on the outskirts of Queensland. A video of Duckett being drunk went viral on social media. Several other players were spotted drinking and partying during the trip. ECB’s Director of Cricket, Rob Key wasn’t pleased with the players and launched an investigation into allegations of excessive drinking. The investigation started after Australia took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.
Starc, the nice guy who bullied English batters
36-year-old Mitchell Starc is in his prime in twilight years. Starc claimed as many as 31 wickets and contributed with the bat as well. While Travis Head went out partying after the Gabba win, Starc was cautious. He had given up alcohol for six weeks leading up to the Ashes. Even after the third Test, he remained focussed and had one celebratory drink.