In the latest report that has come out in Telegraph there seems to be plenty of things that went wrong off the field for England in the lead-up and during the Ashes. In this article we look at what happened off the field for England. It was the morning after England’s opening Ashes defeat in Perth, Brydon Carse was sitting at a riverside cafe with his team-mates Zak Crawley and Harry Brook. Carse put his hand in his pocket, and accidentally dislodged what eyewitnesses described as thousands of dollars in cash that flew into the air. Patrons of the cafe, including English cricket journalists enjoying a quiet coffee, were left scrambling to grab the cash and return it to Carse. Crawley looked mortified.
It was noticeable that Brydon Carse, just a year earlier served a three-month ban for betting on cricket matches, which leads us into England’s curious choice of where to stay in Perth. Before Ashes It was on the white-ball trip to New Zealand that preceded the Ashes that insiders believe unhealthy patterns of boozy behaviour which was highlighted by captain Harry Brook’s run-in with a bouncer the night before a game were set in motion.
Ahead of the Ashes, Ben Stokes, captain of England arrived in Perth in early November. The England Lions were there and some of the fast bowlers. Many of England’s batsmen were enjoying their latest idyllic golf and beer holiday in New Zealand. Harry Brook’s punishment after the incident in New Zealand was a maximum fine and a final warning did not appear to bother players when they got to Australia, despite stern words from McCullum to the whole group in Wellington.
The reports in Telegraph also cited the example of Starc. In contrast to some England players, Mitchell Starc, who took 31 Ashes wickets and won the Compton-Miller Medal. He did not drink for six weeks before the Ashes, and was said by team-mates to have had just one drink after the series sealing win in Adelaide. Starc is the picture of professionalism, and recognised the effect alcohol could have on his body.
After England lost in Adelaide, Stokes told his England players not to head out into town. There were two reasons for this, the optics were poor, after an Ashes defeat in just 11 days, but also this was Australia’s night to celebrate. Stokes’s order was not obeyed by all players, with at least one spotted out later than the Australians. After the second Test they went to Noosa for a break and that incident was also reported. It was noted that some players drank all six days in the lead up. Overall there are plenty of things which went wrong for England
