England vice-captain Harry Brook has apologised after a pre-Ashes late-night incident came to light in which he was involved in a drunken altercation with a bouncer in Wellington.
The London Telegraph revealed that Brook is now on his final warning from the ECB after he had a physical altercation with a bouncer at a nightclub on the night before captaining England’s one-day side took on New Zealand in their final hit-out before arriving in Australia for the Ashes.
He had a modest Ashes series as England were on the receiving end of a 4-1 hiding and former captain Michael Vaughan said he was not surprised by the latest drama to engulf the touring team, calling on the ECB to institute change to Brendon McCullum’s Bazball set-up.
Brook scored just six in the day-nighter after the nightclub incident as England went down by two wickets to lose the series 3-0.
He narrowly avoided getting the sack as England’s white-ball captain after he self-reported to team management that he was hit by the bouncer who had refused him entry to the nightclub due to his intoxicated state.
“I want to apologise for my actions. I fully accept that my behaviour was wrong and brought embarrassment to both myself and the England team,” he said in a statement.
“Representing England is the greatest honour of all, which I take seriously and I am deeply sorry for letting down my teammates, coaches and supporters.
“I have reflected on the lessons it has taught me about responsibility, professionalism and the standards expected of those representing your country.
“I am determined to learn from this mistake and to rebuild trust through my future actions, both on and off the field. I apologise unreservedly and will work hard to ensure this does not happen again.”
The ECB also issued a statement after the Telegraph had approached them about the incident.
“We are aware of this incident and it has been dealt with through a formal and confidential ECB disciplinary process,” it read.
England’s Harry Brook. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
“The player involved has apologised and acknowledged their conduct fell below expectations on this occasion.”
The 26-year-old scored 358 runs in the Ashes at 39.77 but registered a single half-century while the series was alive before recording his top score of 84 in the final Test loss at Sydney.
He threw his wicket away on a few occasions with reckless shots to fall well short of his anything like his career average of 54.79.
The England squad were accused of having a boozy culture during the Ashes tour and behaving like they were on a stag do during a mid-tour break in Noosa with several players drinking heavily for the majority of the six-day stopover.
Opening batter Ben Duckett was filmed drunk and confused after a late-night session after the second Test loss.
Vaughan wrote a column for the Telegraph criticising the team culture.
“The team environment has just been too loose, and too free.
“English cricketers have enjoyed a beer as long as I can remember and I’m in no position to criticise them for that. But there is a time and a place. You look at Harry Brook’s situation in New Zealand and realise things have gone too far.
England’s captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
“Yes, he was disciplined with a fine and a warning, but really there was no consequence. It was not publicly revealed, it was all dealt with in-house.
“Having a no-consequence environment has come home to roost, and it has felt like something like this has been coming.”
Vaughan added that this was “a classic example of England not managing the one-percenters well enough”.
“They are up against teams that fully prepare or fully analyse, assess the way they play, and do not always play the same way. England are the opposite, and it has been royally exposed.
“We need to change the message around the England team, that it is not just a place to turn up and have a craic. Be mature, and eat some humble pie because with a little change of mindset things can change fast.
“You have to recognise the need for change – starting with culture.”
Former England captain Mike Atherton, in his column for The Times, said the Brook incident was typical of the lack of accountability in the squad.
“The context of this story will not be lost on supporters who are dismayed by the general looseness and lack of rigour in preparation that has contributed to the scoreline in the Ashes.
“He needs to understand the broad responsibility, on and off the field, that comes with the positions and he needs to wise up, quickly.”
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