Ex-Australia Star Adds Fresh Twist To England's Noosa 'Drinking' Row: "I Was There"

Former Australia batter Darren Lehmann has defended the England team over reports suggesting that the visitors had too much to drink during their mid-Ashes break in Noosa. According to reports in the English media, a number of players got too drunk during their six-day stay in Noosa, a resort town, ahead of the third Test in Adelaide. Ben Duckett has come under scrutiny, with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) investigating for verification of a video appearing to show the batter drunk and struggling to find his way back to the team hotel. However, Lehmann, who represented Australia in 27 Tests and 117 ODIs, has defended the visitors, saying that the Ben Stokes-led side was "really well behaved" during their time in Noosa.

"I was in Noosa and this bugs me. I am all for getting stuck into England. They haven't played well enough, their preparation before the first game of the series (was not good) I get all that. But I was actually there. They were actually really well behaved. They mixed with the locals, had a good time," Lehmann told ABC Sports.

The 55-year-old also rubbished media reports of 'too much alcohol' as he revealed that the English players engaged in other sports and bonded well with the locals.

"The reports of them stagging it up are just wrong. They were polite and a delight to the people of Noosa, played golf, played soccer with the locals - all that sort of stuff. They were well liked there," he added.

The accusations were levelled at the touring party following their 82-run loss in the third Ashes Test, which ended their hopes of regaining the Urn. Lehmann also addressed the remarks made by England's Director of Cricket, Rob Key, who assured that the allegations of drinking would be investigated.

"I would defend them a bit because that's just out of order. They are running a campaign against them almost and now Rob Key is doing what - a stag-do review or whatever they call it," said Lehmann. 

"I didn't see that. I saw people relaxing, enjoying Noosa for what it is. It didn't look good because of what had happened previously but I have to come to their defence here because they are professional athletes and they are well behaved from what I saw," he added.

Topics mentioned in this article

Australia Cricket Team England Cricket Team Ben Stokes Ben Duckett Brendon McCullum Darren Lehmann Australia vs England, Ashes 2025-26 Cricket