England find unlikely ally in Australia great as drinking allegations swirl: ‘I was in Noosa’

England have found support in an unlikely ally in former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann, who has rubbished the alleged reports of players excessively drinking in Noosa, a beachside destination, ahead of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide. Speaking on ABC Sport, the former cricketer claimed that he was in Noosa at the same time as the England cricket team, and that the players behaved properly and had a good relationship with the locals.

“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,” he said.

“The reports of them stagged is 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.”

The accusations were thrown at Ben Stokes and Co. after England’s 82-run loss in the third Ashes Test, which saw them go 3-0 down in the series. The result also confirmed a series defeat for the visitors. Meanwhile, England’s Director of Cricket, Rob Key, has stated that the allegations of drinking will 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,” Lehmann said.

“I didn’t see that. I saw people relaxing, enjoying Noosa for what it is. It didn’t look good because 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.

The visitors face the possibility of a 5-0 whitewash and will take on Australia in the fourth Test in Melbourne, scheduled to begin on December 26.