Bigger conversation needed over cricket drinking culture - Prior

A "much bigger conversation" needs to be had about cricket's drinking culture, says former England wicketkeeper Matt Prior.

England suffered a dismal 4-1 Ashes defeat by Australia and their behaviour - as well as the team culture - has been scrutinised throughout.

The England and Wales Cricket Board said in December that reports of players drinking excessively during the mid-series trip to Noosa would be investigated.

On Thursday, white-ball captain and Test vice-captain Harry Brook apologised after being involved in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer on the tour of New Zealand that preceded the Ashes.

The incident happened the night before a one-day international in Wellington which Brook captained, and the team subsequently lost.

Prior, who played 79 Tests, told BBC Radio 5 Live that "sometimes things can get on top of you" when playing for England, with drinking the "escapism" players turn to.

"There are a lot of challenges within cricket - vast time away from home, vast time sat in a hotel room by yourself, a huge amount of pressure on you," Prior said.

"England's drinking culture, or supposed drinking culture, is not the reason they lost the Ashes.

"But I think, if we want to go into it and you want to do a proper review of cricket, you can look into this far deeper, absolutely."

The Telegraph broke the story about Brook, external shortly after England lost the final Test in Sydney by five wickets.

Prior said it was "kind of ridiculous" that England players would go out the night before a game.

"If that was an England footballer, there would be hell to pay," he said.

"There just would be. There's just no doubt about it."

The ECB had earlier released a statement from chief executive Richard Gould, in which he said a review of the tour, including the behaviour of the players, would be taking place.

Coach Brendon McCullum had removed the England players' midnight curfew, which had been in place since the 2017-18 tour of Australia.

That curfew came into force after England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow was accused of headbutting Australia batter Cameron Bancroft in a Perth bar.

"It's not just a Harry Brook thing, it's a culture thing. For me it's about what is the expectation on those players in that dressing room? What is it to be an England cricketer?" Prior said.

"In our dressing room we wanted to humanise the team, be the hardest-working cricket team in the world, be highly skilled, but also be human.

"This current England group, whether it be white ball or red ball, what is their culture?

"What does it mean to play cricket for England?"

James Anderson, England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker, said he hopes Brook "learns from it and it doesn't happen again".

Anderson played under McCullum for two years before retiring from international cricket in 2024.

He told the Tailenders podcast: "When we were 25-year-olds, we were making mistakes. We got in trouble at times, we got fined, we've been in the papers.

"But it's the fact it's around an Ashes series and leading up to an Ashes series, which is what doesn't look great.

"As long as he learns from it and it doesn't happen again, [because] as England captain you can't behave like that."

Fast bowler Anderson also said the players should take more responsibility.

"I think that's got to be sort of enforced by the culture and the captain," the 43-year-old added.

"Stokes has said after and during the series, there'd be honest conversations and you've got to have those.

"These players have got to improve - you can't keep making the same mistakes we've been seeing throughout the series."

Australian fast-bowling legend and Test Match Special pundit Glenn McGrath said it is a "different world" for players with the rise of social media.

"It was always an unwritten rule that up to midnight is your time and after midnight is the team's time. It basically means if you're out too late, you're affecting the team," McGrath told BBC Sport.

"It was sort of unwritten rules like that. Culture itself was set by the captain and senior players, and was managed by the captain and senior players."

In 2005, McGrath's team-mate Andrew Symonds was left out of Australia's team and subsequently fined two match fees - about £3,000 - for staying out too late.

"The fact that happened and we lost the match - when you lose, everything is always exaggerated. If we'd won that match maybe it wouldn't have been as big an issue," McGrath added.

"It was just one of those things - everyone came home and then he went back out, and the next morning he was still under the weather and then it went from there.

"When you are losing and the media, fans, social media are into you, it's completely different challenges that they face these days."