England’s disastrous Ashes trip has been hit by accusations that players and backroom staff had developed a drinking culture, as the team managing director Ashley Giles prepared an end-of-tour report that could decide the fate of head coach Chris Silverwood.
With bubble life at times restricting the movement of the tourists, alcohol was more readily available than usual at the team’s various hotels – and that placed a premium on making the most of the occasional night out.
Allowances were made because of the claustrophobic nature of life during the pandemic, with the England team spending more time in bubbles than any other side in the world since a pandemic was declared almost two years ago.
England players suffered an embarrassing 4-0 Ashes loss to Australia this winter
Rules had been relaxed regarding alcohol ahead of the tour given the Covid restrictions
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But some members of the coaching staff are understood to have been drinking as heavily as the players, and one possibility after Covid restrictions come to an end is the return of the curfews imposed by former MD Andrew Strauss during the previous Ashes tour, when it emerged that Jonny Bairstow had greeted Australian opener Cameron Bancroft with a headbutt in a Perth bar.
Strauss, who now chairs the ECB’s performance cricket committee, will assess Giles’s report, along with chief executive Tom Harrison, who is believed to have been unimpressed with the England set-up during his three-week visit to Australia.
In another incident, one of the players declined to take a skin-fold test, then claimed England were trying to ‘fat-shame’ him.
A decision on Silverwood’s fate will need to be made quickly, with England’s Test team set to leave for a three-match in the series in the Caribbean towards the end of February.
England’s managing director Ashely Giles is now preparing an end-of-tour report
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