England cricket chief to probe 'stag-do' drinking on Ashes beach break

England cricket chief Rob Key has pledged to investigate whether his players' drinking on a mid-Ashes beach break went too far, after reports said it had been like a "stag-do".

The England team headed to Queensland tourist playground Noosa after losing the first two Tests in Perth and Brisbane heavily.

They spent several days on the sand and around restaurants and bars, followed by TV crews, photographers and reporters before travelling to Adelaide, where they lost the third Test as Australia retained the Ashes.

Unverified social media footage has also emerged appearing to show opening batter Ben Duckett drunk.

Britain's Daily Telegraph reported that "after drowning their sorrows after the Brisbane Test, it is no exaggeration to say some, certainly not all, players drank for five or six days".

It added that players "did nothing outrageous in Noosa" but there was concern over the level of drinking, with England's professionalism already under question after their limited preparations.

Speaking before the video of Duckett began circulating, managing director of men's cricket Key told English media in Melbourne: "If there's things where people are saying that our players went out and drank excessively, then of course we'll be looking into that.

"Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol for an international cricket team is not something that I'd expect to see at any stage."

Key, who did not travel with the team to Noosa, added: "From everything that I've heard so far, they actually were pretty well behaved. Very well behaved."

He admitted that he did not mind players having the occasional drink, but "if it goes past that, then that's an issue as far as I'm concerned".

Key, in Melbourne for the fourth Test, which starts on Friday, also revealed he had previously looked into reports that players had been spotted drinking the night before a limited-overs match in New Zealand, just before the Ashes tour.

"I didn't feel like that was worthy of formal warnings, but it was probably worthy of informal ones," he said.

Concerning the Duckett video, an England and Wales Cricket Board spokesman said the ECB was establishing the facts and that it had "high expectations for behaviour".

Key also backed England head coach Brendon McCullum even though the Ashes were lost inside 11 playing days.

The fate of both McCullum and Key rests with the ECB.

"Clearly, we've mucked up on the big occasions, whether that was the home Ashes series, whether that was last summer against India," he said of a home series that was drawn 2-2 when England threw away a position to win.

"The big ones have eluded us... we have to evolve. We have to make sure that we're doing things better."