England head coach Brendon McCullum has praised how Harry Brook has handled recent controversy but acknowledged his white-ball captain is a “work in progress” off the field.
Brook was fined £30,000 by the England and Wales Cricket Board and warned about his conduct after being struck by a nightclub bouncer in Wellington the night before a one-day international against New Zealand in November. England lost that match by two wickets and slumped to a 3-0 series defeat. The incident became public in January during England’s 4-1 Ashes defeat, by which time Brook had earlier insisted he had been alone that night.
Over the weekend Brook admitted he had lied to protect team-mates Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue, who were with him in New Zealand and are now under investigation by The Cricket Regulator, an independent body that can bring disrepute charges.
Brook retained the captaincy of England’s limited-overs sides despite the incident and impressed on tour in Sri Lanka, guiding England to a 2-1 ODI series victory and a 3-0 T20 sweep.
Speaking after England sealed victory in the final match of the Sri Lanka tour, McCullum said: “I thought Brooky was sensational with his tactics throughout both series. He’s had a hard time of late off the field, but he’s a tough lad to be able to put that aside and still lead these boys in the manner that he did, and show the tactical nous that he has as a cricketer was outstanding.”
McCullum defended Brook’s cricketing intelligence: “I do sometimes think that people think that Brooky’s not that clever. I couldn’t disagree with that more. He wears his intelligence lightly. He’s got a very good tactical cricket brain.”
On the off-field issues, McCullum added: “He’s a work in progress off the field. He’s not alone with that, and that’s our job to help shepherd him through. But on the field, he’s certainly excelling at the moment.”
He also said Brook had shown accountability: “He’s a tough lad, Brooky. He put his hand up, tried to protect his boys as well. Obviously, we’d dealt with everything in the manner that we thought was required internally, and he was disciplined and the boys were disciplined, and obviously, very stern words spoken. But from there, it’s been about trying to support these lads. And Brooky’s been absolutely brilliant to be able to own up to things, put his hand up, and still cross the line into the arena and not lose his confidence or be distracted by things going on.”
Bethell and Tongue are part of England’s T20 World Cup squad travelling to India. England begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Nepal on Sunday.
McCullum’s own future has been the subject of speculation after the Ashes, and the management’s handling of the Brook matter has come under scrutiny. McCullum reiterated the need to look after players’ mental health amid the relentless international schedule, particularly for those who play across all formats.
“Cricket is such a unique game because it’s 12 months of the year,” he said. “It’s not like any other game, you have to be up for 12 months year on year on year. It can be challenging mentally for a lot of guys, and cricket’s got a history of issues in that space. So, our job as leaders and our job at English cricket is to make sure we look after these boys. Yes, discipline in times where mistakes have been made, but from now, it’s about looking after them and protecting them and trying to make sure that we put space between those times.”
England’s T20 World Cup fixtures (first round) — All times UK and Ireland; all games live on Sky Sports:
– vs Nepal (Sunday February 8) — Mumbai (9.30am)
– vs West Indies (Wednesday February 11) — Mumbai (1.30pm)
– vs Scotland (Saturday February 14) — Kolkata (9.30am)
– vs Italy (Monday February 16) — Kolkata (9.30am)
Watch every match of the Men’s T20 World Cup live from February 7 to March 8 on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream contract-free with NOW.