Rob Key to look into claims of excessive drinking during England's Noosa break

England team director Rob Key said he will investigate claims that players drank excessively during a mid-tour break in Noosa ahead of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide.

Reports of excessive drinking emerged after a video of Ben Duckett appearing intoxicated circulated on social media, prompting scrutiny of England's time away from cricket.

Key said the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) would look into the allegations.

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

"We've added security. We've got enough ways of finding out exactly what happened. And everything that I've heard so far is that they sat down, had lunch, had dinner and didn't go out late and had the odd drink. I don't mind that."

Duckett was dropped from the England Lions squad during a tour of Australia in 2017-18 after pouring a drink over England bowler James Anderson.

Key also revealed that he had spoken earlier to Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell after they were photographed drinking on the eve of the final ODI of England's recent white-ball tour of New Zealand prior to the Ashes.

Despite the criticism, Key defended the idea of a mid-series break, citing the demands of the international calendar and the pressure of touring Australia.

"Harry Brook is going to spend six days at home this entire winter. Jofra Archer will go through to the World Cup and the Indian Premier League. So I think it's so important that these players, especially multi-format players, can get away and live a normal life. But if it goes into where they're drinking lots and it's a stag do, that's completely unacceptable.

"I think a drinking culture doesn't help anyone in any stretch whatsoever. I have no issue with Noosa if it was to get away and just throw your phone away, down tools, go on the beach, all of that stuff."