Brendon McCullum 'annoyed' with ECB’s handling of Harry Brook over nightclub incident

Harry Brook and Brendon McCullum [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/x]

England coach Brendon McCullum has expressed his frustration over the repeated media scrutiny around white-ball captain Harry Brook. The former New Zealand skipper is also seemingly “annoyed” with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in regards to the Brook’s night club controversy.

McCullum believes that Harry Brook’s nightclub incident has already been handled “pretty well” and the ECB does not need to release all of the findings for the media every time something new arises.

England coach urges ECB to not release everything for media

Brendon McCullum has urged the ECB to stop releasing new findings from the Harry Brook nightclub incident every time they discover something new. While speaking with the reporters after England’s comprehensive 3-0 T20I series win in Sri Lanka, McCullum said “I don't think we need to release all of those findings every time something arises to the media.”

As per the ECB findings, it was reported that Harry Brook’s English teammates Josh Tongue and Jacob Bethell were also present during the nightclub incident in New Zealand late last year. While Tongue and Bethell have been fined by the ECB, McCullum argued that the story should be suppressed instead of giving it repeated attention.

The England coach added, “The process was done internally at the ECB, which we were all a part of. The boys were under no uncertain terms of how we felt about it, but now our job is to support them. And, to be honest, I find it quite annoying that we keep going on and on about it, because these are young men who are under immense pressure and they've put their hand up for something they've been disciplined for, and piling onto them is not helpful for anyone.”

Brendon McCullum praises Harry Brook for protecting his teammates

Brendon McCullum also praised Harry Brook for publicly lying about the incident by saying he was alone on his night out. The England coach believes that in doing so, Brook was protecting his teammates Josh Tongue and Jacob Bethell.

He said, “Brooky obviously was trying to protect his other players when he made that comment, I wasn't aware of that comment until I was told, because I don't read the media personally.”

Harry Brook’s nightclub incident explained

During England’s tour of New Zealand late last year, Harry Brook was punched by a nightclub bouncer on his night out in Wellington. Additional reports suggested that Brook was also accompanied by teammates Josh Tongue and Jacob Bethell at the time.

Nonetheless, under the leadership of Harry Brook, the England cricket team recently walloped Sri Lanka by a 3-0 margin in a three-match T20I series. While the explosive middle-order batter failed to notch up a single notable score in the T20Is, the cricketer did plunder a match-winning century against Sri Lanka in the series-deciding third ODI in Colombo.

As of now, Harry Brook will be seen leading his English troops in the upcoming 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka later this week. The England team is scheduled to start off its campaign with a match against Nepal on February 8 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.