In mobile-phone footage that has gone viral on social media, England captain Joe Root, fast bowler James Anderson can be seen alongside three Australia players – Nathan Lyon, Travis Head and Alex Carey – at an early-morning drinking session at England’s team hotel in Hobart
The gathering took place in a public area in Hobart’s Crowne Plaza Hotel and continued to 6 am when the police were brought in after a noise complaint from fellow guests. All the players left the area immediately after police officers asked them to pack up.
“Tasmania Police attended the Crowne Plaza Hobart on Monday morning after reports were made of intoxicated people in a function area. The guests were spoken to by police just after 6:00 am and left the area when asked. No further action will be taken by police,” a police statement read as quoted by Sydney Morning Herald.
In the video, which seems to have been filmed by England’s assistant coach, Graham Thorpe, a female police officer can be heard asking the players: “Too loud. You have obviously been asked to pack up, so we’ve been asked to come. Time for bed, thank you. They just want to pack up.”
Further, Thorpe can be heard saying: “We’ve got Nathan Lyon, Root, there’s Carey and Anderson. I’ll just video this for the lawyers. See you in the morning, everyone.”
Here is the video:
After the viral video, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) issued a statement stating they would do a proper investigation concerning the whole episode and apologised for any inconvenience caused on behalf of English players.
“During the early hours of Monday morning, members of the England and Australia men’s teams shared a drink in the team areas of the hotel in Hobart. The hotel management received a noise complaint by a hotel guest and, the local police attended the scene. The England party have apologised for any inconvenience caused. The ECB will investigate further. Until such times, we will make no further comment,” said an ECB spokesperson as quoted by Sky Sports.
Notably, Australia defeated England in the fifth and final Test by 146 runs to capture the five-match Ashes series 4-0.
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