Harry Brook has described the fallout from a nightclub incident in New Zealand as 'horrendous' as he prepares to lead England at the T20 World Cup. The 24-year-old was punched by a bouncer hours before captaining England, and later lied about being alone, claiming he was on his own when he was accompanied by teammates Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue.
The matter is now being investigated by the Cricket Regulator. The England and Wales Cricket Board has fined Brook and issued a final warning over his conduct. Brook issued an apology via a statement for lying, saying he wanted to shield his teammates from blame.
Asked how he has found the experience, Brook said: 'It has been pretty horrendous. It’s not been a very nice time of my life. All I do is hit a ball with a bat and that’s what I want to carry on doing for the rest of my career. I made a mistake, I’ve got to try to put that behind me and focus on what’s more important.'
Brook said teammate Brydon Carse and his agent have been especially helpful during the controversy. He plans to take time after the T20 World Cup to reflect on what happened and acknowledged the extra responsibility of captaincy: 'When you’re a leader, you can’t take that responsibility lightly and you’ve got to be on virtually all the time.'
Despite the off-field turbulence, Brook has returned to form with a 57-ball century in an ODI and a brutal 36 off 12 balls in a T20. England head into their campaign for a third T20 crown after winning two white-ball series in Sri Lanka. They start against Nepal in Mumbai on Sunday, their first meeting in any format.
Phil Salt is fit to open alongside Jos Buttler after missing a recent T20 with a back spasm. Luke Wood has been preferred to Jamie Overton, while Tom Banton gets the nod over Ben Duckett. England will field four spin options: Adil Rashid, Liam Dawson, Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks. Brook said: 'You look at India, they’re one of the best sides to play T20 cricket at the minute, and they’ve got about five spinners, so why don’t we have a little bit of a crack at that as well?'
