Harry Brook admits he made a ‘terrible mistake’ by getting involved in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer and accepts he is lucky to still be England captain.
The 26-year-old was fined and warned about his future conduct by the England and Wales Cricket Board after the incident the night before an ODI in New Zealand – which acted as a warm-up for Australia’s troubled Ashes series.
Brook, who was appointed white-ball skipper last April and promoted to vice-captain of the Test team in September, has avoided being stripped of the lead and apologized in a statement after the news emerged following the final Ashes Test in Sydney.
Facing the media in Colombo on Wednesday, he revealed he had taken it upon himself to go out alone in Wellington and was “clocked” by a bouncer as he tried to enter a nightclub.
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Unprofessional
“I made a terrible mistake, not only as a player, but as a captain,” Brook said.
“It’s very unprofessional and I should be leading from the front and showing the players what it should be like as a professional cricketer and captain and I put myself in a bad situation.
“I would like to say sorry to my teammates and to all the fans who travel far and wide and spend a lot of money to watch us play cricket.
“We went for a few drinks beforehand and then I took it upon myself to have a few more and I was there alone.”
Brook informed the ECB what had happened during that ODI in Wellington, believing it saved him from harsher punishment, but admits he was concerned about being sacked as captain.
“I trusted the ECB to tell them I had made a mistake and luckily I am still playing cricket for England and that is a childhood dream,” Brook added.
“I told them halfway through the game. I felt like I had to think about it and try to come up with a plan to deny what happened.”
“(Resigning) was never in my mind. I left that decision up to the hierarchy and look, if they had sacked me as captain, I would have been fine with it as long as I was still playing cricket for England.
“Probably a little (thankfully). Even if I had been sacked, I would have held my hands up and said, ‘look, I made the mistake’ and it would have been fine if I was sacked as captain as long as I was still playing cricket.”
Harry Brook has avoided being sacked from the England captaincy following the New Zealand incident
(Robbie Stephenson/PA)
Insecure
Brook’s incident was one of a number of controversial moments during the 4-1 Ashes defeat, with England forced to answer questions about their preparation and a so-called ‘drinking culture’ – following a mid-Ashes trip to Noosa where players were photographed drinking in bars.
That put pressure on head coach Brendon McCullum. The New Zealander has been signed to manage England in Sri Lanka and the T20 World Cup, but his future beyond that remains uncertain.
“I don’t think there is a drinking culture at all. We’re all old enough and mature enough to be able to say no if we don’t want to drink, and mature enough to say yes if we want to have a drink,” Brook said.
“It wasn’t all drinking. We didn’t just go out and get leather every day. We had a few drinks here and there.”
“We played a lot of golf, went to nice cafes, had coffee, but we had a few drinks here and there.”
ECB chief executive Richard Gould is conducting a formal review of the Ashes tour with a focus on ‘behaviour’.
There are already signs of change, with the team and the ECB agreeing to a number of restrictions, including a midnight curfew, while in the subcontinent.
Brook is preparing to lead England in this six-match tour of Sri Lanka before their T20 World Cup campaign begins in Mumbai on February 9.
The Yorkshireman admits he needs to regain his position within the team.
“I think I still have some work to do to try to regain the trust of the players. I said sorry to them yesterday,” he added.
“I felt like I had to apologize for my actions. It’s not acceptable as a player, but as a captain it’s really not acceptable to do what I did in New Zealand.”
READ MORE: Why sacking England head coach Brendon McCullum would cost the ECB more than just money
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