'The Boys Got A Bit Fed Up': Travis Head On Ashes Drinks Controversy After Ben Stokes Rubbishes Australia's Allegations

While the Ashes is done and dusted, the controversy surrounding the traditional post-series drinks refuses to die down. And the latest high-profile name to comment on the incident is none other than Australia star Travis Head who saw the incident unfold from close quarters.

The fiercely fought five-match Test series ended in a controversial manner as the England and Australia players failed to sit together and drink beer in the dressing room. Before the incident, England head coach Brendon McCullum had said that the England players were unlikely to share a beer with Australia following Jonny Bairstow’s controversial dismissal during the second Test.

And as the England players failed to share a beer with the Australia team after the series, many believed that it was intentional. According to reports, Australian players were spotted looking into England’s dressing rooms after the last Test to see if they could share a beer, before eventually giving up and leaving the stadium. Pat Cummins and his teammates reportedly asked numerous times to enter the English dressing room but the door remained locked.

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Travis Head on drinks controversy:

England, on their part, have denied the allegations that they intentionally snubbed Australia for the post-series drinks. England skipper Ben Stokes took to Twitter to clear things up, saying that the team wrap-up got extended due to presentation.

To clarify…
Our wrap took longer than expected because of multiple last time event’s.
We decided to meet up in the night club rather than the dressing room
???????? https://t.co/jJ4Qw3uCnm

— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) August 1, 2023

Travis Head has now opened up on the incident. The left-handed batsman confirmed that he and his teammates had indeed knocked on England’s doors and waited for nearly an hour before leaving the stadium. At the same time, Travis Head also stated that England did not do it on purpose and it was just a case of the timings not matching.

“In terms of it, it’s been played up a little bit. Post-match, I think we hung around for a little bit. They had a couple of retirements and I think a few staff that was going. We sort of knocked a couple of times and got told two minutes, which turned into an hour and the boys got a bit fed up,” Travis Head told the Willow Talk Podcast.

“But yeah, a few of the boys met up with them afterward and I’ve been in contact with a couple of the guys that I was close with about the differences in the timing. A bit disappointing, but yeah I don’t think it was by design.

“We didn’t go there together [the nightclub]. It’s just by design again that both teams found themselves at the same place. I think it was a Monday night, but there are not many places to go on a Monday night in London, so we found ourselves in the same place.

So yeah, shared one or two Vodka Red Bulls together and then off to the flight. Like I said, I think it was all a bit laughed off from us and then the media played it up a little bit. It wasn’t meant to be but these things happen,” the batter concluded.