Key to probe beach drinking

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

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

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 and the Ashes.

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.

"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," Key told English media in Melbourne ahead of the Boxing Day Test.