Harry Brook (Source:X)
In a significant development, Harry Brook has admitted he is still fortunate to be England's white-ball captain after being involved in a late-night altercation with a nightclub bouncer during last year’s tour of New Zealand.
Harry Brook said England supporters have every right to be annoyed following the incident, which took place on the eve of the third ODI against New Zealand in Wellington on 1 November.
What was Harry Brook and nightclub incident?
The 26-year-old player was trying to enter a nightclub and got into a fight with the bouncer. The star player was later fined around £30,000 by the England and Wales Cricket Board and received a final warning over his conduct.
Although the disciplinary process was completed before the Ashes series in Australia, the incident only became public more than two months later, after England’s 4-1 Test series defeat.
That tour was heavily criticised, with questions raised over England’s preparation and off-field behaviour, including drinking during a break in Noosa.
Harry Brook apologises to players, fans and ECB
Harry Brook accepted the responsibility for his actions and apologised to his team, the ECB and England fans.
"Obviously I made a terrible mistake," Brook said. "Not only as a player, but as a captain. It's very unprofessional and I should be leading from the front."
"I've learnt from my mistakes, I've reflected a lot on what's happened and I know it wasn't the right thing to do. I want to say sorry to my team-mates, to all the fans that travel far and wide to watch, spend a lot of money on coming out to watch us play cricket and supporting us, and to the ECB for putting them in a tricky situation, and it'll never happen again. I'm extremely sorry."
Brook vows to regain trust of England players
Brook explained that the evening began with players going out for food and said there was no plan to stay out late. However, he admitted he chose to stay out on his own and accepted that the decision was wrong.
"We went out for a couple of drinks beforehand and then I took it upon myself to go out for a few more and I was on my own there," Brook said.
"I was trying to get into a club and the bouncer just clocked me, unfortunately. Like I said, I shouldn't have been in that situation from the start ... I wasn't absolutely leathered, I'd had one too many drinks."
Brook did not confirm the exact time he returned to the England hotel. The following day, he was dismissed for 6 as England collapsed to 44-5 and went on to lose the match by 2 wickets.
Midway through that game, Brook reported the incident to England management. He later said he feared losing the captaincy but left the decision to officials.
"It was definitely going through my mind," Brook said of the potential that he would lose his job, before adding that he had not at any stage considered resigning. "Never came into my mind. I left that decision to the hierarchy and, look, if they'd have sacked me from being captain, then I'd have been perfectly fine with it, as long as I was still playing cricket for England.
"I think I've got a little bit of work to do to try and regain the trust of the players. I said sorry to them yesterday. I felt like I needed to say sorry 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. I'll be the first person to say that. I hold my hands up."
Curfew introduced as England to begin SL series
It is important to mention that England have since tightened discipline, with players and staff now under a midnight curfew. Brook is leading England in their white-ball series against Sri Lanka, which begins with the first ODI in Colombo on Thursday.
