Graham Thorpe’s position as England assistant coach is in doubt after the ECB launched an investigation into footage of Tasmanian police telling five Ashes stars – including Joe Root and Jimmy Anderson – to go to bed following a complaint about ‘intoxicated people’.
Thorpe filmed the incident but it ended up being posted on the Sydney Morning Herald’s website. It took place Monday morning at 6am, eight hours after Hobart had completed its fifth and last Test.
It shows Root, Anderson and three Australian players – Nathan Lyon, Alex Carey and Travis Head – being told to move from the terrace of the hotel the two teams have been sharing.
England quickly issued an apology ‘for any inconvenience caused’, but there is fury at the ECB – not only because Thorpe felt the need to film what happened on either his iPhone or an iPad, but because the footage then reached the public domain, only hours after revelations emerged that a disastrous Ashes tour had been hit by a drinking culture involving players and back-room staff alike.
After a complainant made a complaint, police were summoned. One of the officers could be heard saying to the cricketers that it was too loud. We have been requested to arrive. Now it’s bedtime. We are grateful. They are just looking to get rid of everything. There was no further action.
Graham Thorpe (left), who filmed leaked footage showing players being thrown out of bars, has been credited with having filmed it.
Amazing footage shows the moment that England and Australia’s cricket stars were kicked from a roof bar by police. (pic left: Nathan Lyon; pic right: Joe Root).
In footage shot by England’s assistant coach, Travis Head was the Man of the Series.
As the players move quietly away from a table full of half-drunk beer bottles, Thorpe provides his own commentary: ‘We’ve got Nathan Lyon, Joe Root, Alex Carey, Jimmy Anderson… Just video this, just for the lawyers… say good morning, everyone.’
The ECB could not have been more unfortunate. The ECB’s chief executive Tom Harrison wasn’t impressed by the three weeks he spent in Australia. He saw a questionable level of fitness and poor communication with players and management. There were also accusations of fat-shaming and excessive drinking, which led to him losing confidence in Chris Silverwood.
It is understood players on both sides shared drinks in the Bellerive Oval dressing-rooms until around 2.30am on Monday – four and a half hours after Australia had clinched a 4-0 series win with a 146-run victory in the final Test.
Once they returned to the Crowne Plaza hotel in the central business district of Hobart, about a 15-minute drive from the ground, some of the players – as well as Thorpe – carried on drinking on the fourth-floor terrace until the police arrived at 6am.
Police issued a statement stating that they had received reports about ‘intoxicated persons in a function area. When asked, police spoke with the guests and told them to leave.
Thorpe was confronted by the media in the Ashes, but now he is under much more scrutiny
The England team suffered a humiliating 4-0 Ashes loss against Australia in this winter’s cricket international
Head, the Ashes Player of the Series had been elected eight hours ago.
The ECB released a statement saying that members from Australia and England shared a drink at the Hobart hotel’s team area.
The hotel received a noise complaint from a member the public. As is standard in Australia, the police were called to the scene. The players and their management were asked to vacate the hotel by the Tasmanian police. They returned to the rooms in which they had been staying. England Party has apologized for any inconvenience.
“The ECB is continuing to investigate. We won’t make further comments at this time.
REVEALED! There was an Ashes culture in England, with players and coaches getting as drunk as their counterparts. Now curfews could be reinstituted on overseas trips.
Lawrence Booth
England’s Ashes failure has been made worse by drinking problems among the players. Ashley Giles was the team managing director and prepared an End-of-Tour Report that could be decisive for the fate of Chris Silverwood.
With bubble life at times restricting the movement of the tourists, alcohol was more readily available than usual at the team’s various hotels — and that placed a premium on making the most of the occasional night out.
Because of the extreme claustrophobic environment of pandemics, allowances were made for the England team’s time spent in bubbles. This was almost twice the amount of time the other sides have been spending in bubbles since the outbreak began nearly two years ago.
However, it is believed that some of the coaches were as drunk as the players.
The return of curfews that Andrew Strauss used to impose during previous Ashes tours is one option. This was after it became clear that Cameron Bancroft, the Australian opener, had received a headbutt from Jonny Bairstow in a Perth bar.
The England team suffered a humiliating 4-0 Ashes loss against Australia in this winter’s cricket international
Due to Covid restrictions, alcohol rules were relaxed prior to the tour
Strauss (now the ECB’s Performance Cricket Committee Chair) will evaluate Giles’ Report, as well as chief executive Tom Harrison who was thought to not have been impressed by the England setup on his three-week trip to Australia.
One of the players refused to submit to a skin-fold examination, and then claimed that England wanted to “fat shame” him.
Silverwood’s future will have to be decided quickly as England’s Test team is due to depart for a series of three matches in the Caribbean at the beginning of February.
For his part, Silverwood has insisted he wants to stay on as England head coach — but admitted he could have ‘shown my teeth more’ to the players amid accusations of dressing-room cosiness.
Since beating India at Chennai last February, England have lost 10 Tests out of 14 and won only one — their worst sequence for 25 years. Silverwood’s destiny is now dependent on both the post-series Report by Giles as well as the opinions of Harrison and other members the Performance Cricket Committee, which Strauss chairs.
Silverwood’s incompetence and poor communication are causing a lack of trust among players.
A coach was about to inform a player that his Test had been abandoned, but the player responded by saying that he had read in a newspaper of the same fate.
England coach Chris Silverwood (left), is still waiting for a decision on his future
Ashley Giles, England’s managing director is currently working on an end-of tour report
Silverwood believes that with the support of a reformated domestic structure driven by red-ballism, it is possible to turn things around. He said, ‘My job is under scrutiny.’ He said, “But I would love the opportunity to effect these changes within county structures. It would be a great honor to make some changes. While I consider myself a competent coach, I can’t control certain things.
Harrison and Strauss don’t have much time to recommend to the ECB board with six weeks left before England departs for the Caribbean. Silverwood is struggling to keep up with both the daily demands of Test and white-ball coaching, as well the role of chief selectionor.
Graham Thorpe and Paul Collingwood are two examples of assistant coaches who may be assigned more responsibility.
It is also up to the hierarchy to decide if Silverwood and Root are a good-cop pair to share the truths with the players. Root admitted after Hobart’s loss that “there may be times when we have to work a bit harder”.
Silverwood explained that she tries to help people rather than growling or shouting. While I am not scared to expose my teeth, it is sometimes hard for me to decide if I should. It can make the process less efficient. It’s not clear.
He may be disappointed with the absurd ending to the fifth Test. Silverwood stated after surrender that he believed they were still playing for him. The only thing we could see was tired players. It was difficult to see.
He said that he will’start planning to the West Indies’, and consider other options than the 16 Australian players. What are our options? Are there any changes we should make? Silverwood pondered.
It is up to his bosses whether he will be asking these questions in the next few weeks.