Harry Brook, the England white-ball captain, has admitted that teammates were present on the night he clashed with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand last year. Speaking at the start of England’s tour of Sri Lanka, Brook had initially claimed he was alone when he was punched by a bouncer on the eve of the third one-day international in Wellington.
In a statement released on Friday, Brook acknowledged the presence of others that evening. The statement followed reporting from the Telegraph that the Cricket Regulator is investigating the 26-year-old, along with Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue, over their conduct. It was also reported that all three were fined by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Brook said: “I accept responsibility for my actions in Wellington and acknowledge that others were present that evening. I regret my previous comments and my intention was to protect my teammates from being drawn into a situation that arose as a result of my own decisions. I have apologised and will continue to reflect on the matter. This has been a challenging period in my career, but one from which I am learning.”
The batter accepted last week that he was fortunate still to be England captain, stating: “Even if I had been sacked, I’d have held my hands up and said: ‘Look, I’ve made the mistake,’ and I’d have been perfectly fine with getting sacked from the job as captain, as long as I was still playing cricket. I think I’ve got a little bit of work to do to try to regain the trust of the players.”
Brook’s U-turn comes as he prepares to lead England at the upcoming T20 World Cup, with their campaign beginning next week against Nepal in Mumbai. He recently helped England secure a 2-1 ODI series win in Sri Lanka, scoring a match-winning century in the decider, and contributed an unbeaten 16 in the T20 series opener.
