Travis Head, an Australian batsman, is the most recent cricketer to address the post-Ashes 2023 drinks scandal. He acknowledged that the Australian athletes did knock on England’s doors and lingered for over an hour before departing in dismay. However, he concurred that the opponents were not intentionally negligent and that the timings were just out of sync.
Following the completion of the last Ashes 2023 Test at The Oval, a huge debate broke out. The Australian media claimed that after winning the most recent Test, England declined to join the visitors for the customary post-Ashes drinks. The English team quickly made it clear that the co-drinking session was unable to take place because of post-match celebrations for retiring players and some staff members.
Head was questioned about the topic in an exchange on the Willow Talk Podcast.
“In terms of it, it’s been a little exaggerated. I believe we lingered around after the game. They had a few retirees, and I believe several staff members were leaving. The fellas grew a little impatient after we knocked a couple of times and were given two minutes, which stretched into an hour,” he said.
“But yes, a handful of the boys did meet up with them later, and I’ve spoken to a couple of the men I was close to about the scheduling discrepancies. A little depressing, but no, I don’t believe that was deliberate, the left-handed hitter continued.”
The fifth and final Ashes 2023 Test needed 384 runs for Australia to win. Their openers contributed 140, which was a fantastic start for them. But ultimately, they were bowled out for 334.
“We didn’t travel there jointly” – Travis Head on an encounter in a nightclub
Ben Stokes, the captain of England, clarified the situation about the alcohol by saying that the teams afterward met in a nightclub. Head said that the meeting was more of a happenstance than a planned event.
The 29-year-old added detail:
“We didn’t go to the nightclub together. Again, it was entirely by design that both crews ended up at the same location. We ended ourselves at the same location on what I believe to be a Monday night in London because there aren’t many places to go on a Monday night. Therefore, we shared one or two Vodka Red Bulls before heading to the airport.”
“As I said, I believe that we kind of laughed it off, but the media kind of hyped it up. Although these things do happen, it wasn’t meant to be, the batter said”
In Ashes 2023, Head had a mixed performance, hitting 362 runs in 10 innings at an average of 36.20.