Ahead of the first ODI against Sri Lanka, England captain Harry Brook admitted that he was close to being sacked as the skipper following his late-night altercation with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand.
Midway through the Ashes, news reports claimed that Brook was fined 30,000 pounds for being involved in a tussle with a bouncer and was also issued a final warning for his off-field behaviour.
According to a report in the Telegraph, Brook, along with other England players, went out drinking ahead of the third ODI against New Zealand, and it was then that he found himself in trouble.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the first game against Sri Lanka, Brook said that he might have gone with other England players, but he went to the nightclub on his own, and it was then that he was “clocked” by a bouncer when he was trying to enter the club.
“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, according to ESPNCricinfo.
“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,” he added.
Brook then himself reported the incident to the England management and it was then that discussions were had with him and he survived sacking by the barest of margins.
“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,” said Brook.
When asked whether he felt lucky to keep his job, the England skipper replied, “Probably, yeah. 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.”
Stokes comes to Brook’s aid
The Brook development broke amid the allegations of an extensive drinking culture within English cricket. During the Ashes tour, players were regularly seen consuming beers.
The 26-year-old Brook also revealed that he sought help from England Test captain Ben Stokes, who himself was involved in a high-profile nightclub fight in 2018.
“No, there’s no drinking culture at all. Like I said, everybody has the ability to say no. If you want a drink, if you don’t want a drink, you’re allowed to make that decision yourself. It wasn’t just drinking [in Australia]. We weren’t just going out and getting leathered every day. We were having a few drinks here and there. We were playing plenty of golf, going to nice cafes, having coffees but we had a few drinks here and there. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It’s just what human beings do,” said Brook.
After the reports of binge drinking in Australia, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have imposed a curfew on the players for the Sri Lanka tour and the T20 World Cup.
Despite this, England have introduced a curfew for their tour of Sri Lanka, with playing staff not allowed out past midnight.
“That’s been made as a group decision. We think that it’s the best thing going forward, for the time being, to be able to put us in situations where we can win games of cricket and perform to the best of our ability,” said Brook.