England coach Brendon McCullum has praised Harry Brook’s handling of recent controversies but admits his white-ball captain is a “work in progress” away from the cricket field.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) fined Brooke £30,000 and warned him about his behavior after he was punched by a Wellington nightclub bouncer the night before the one-day international against New Zealand in November, a game England lost by two wickets as they slumped to a 3-0 series defeat.
Brooke’s indiscretion only became public knowledge in January, when England slumped to a 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia, at which point he insisted he was alone on the night out.
He admitted at the weekend that he had lied to protect his teammates Jacob Bethel and Josh Tong, who were with him in New Zealand, and are now being investigated by The Cricket Regulator, a body independent of the ECB which has the power to bring allegations of disrepute.
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Brook admits he is happy to still be England white-ball captain after row with nightclub bouncer the night before the match
Brooke retained the captaincy of England’s limited-overs teams despite the incident and impressed on their tour of Sri Lanka by leading his side to a 2-1 ODI series win and a 3-0 clean sweep in the T20s.
Speaking after England sealed victory on Tuesday in the final match of the series, McCullum said: “I thought Brooky was sensational with his tactics throughout both series.
“He’s had a tough time off the field recently, but he’s a tough guy to put that aside and still lead these guys in the way he’s done, and to show that the tactical nous that he has as a cricketer has been outstanding.”
“Sometimes I think people think Brooky’s not that smart. I couldn’t disagree with that. He wears his intelligence lightly. He’s got a very good tactical cricket brain.
“He’s a work in progress off the field. He’s not alone in that, and it’s our job to help him get through it. But on the field, he’s certainly great right now.”
England begin their World T20 campaign against Nepal on Sunday, with Bethel and Tong also part of the squad heading to India.
McCullum’s future has also been the subject of speculation following a hugely disappointing Ashes display in England, with the handling of the Brook saga also under scrutiny.
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Moeen Ali believes that, with a few tweaks, McCullum is the right person to lead England
He added: “He’s a tough guy, Brooky. He put his hand up, tried to protect his boys as well. Obviously we dealt with everything the way we thought we needed to internally, and he was disciplined and the boys were disciplined, and obviously, some very harsh words were said.”
“But from there, it was about trying to support these guys. And Brooky was absolutely brilliant to be able to acknowledge things, put his hand up and still cross the line in the arena and not lose confidence or get distracted by things that were going on.”
McCullum also reiterated the importance of looking after the mental health of his players amid the relentless schedule faced by international cricketers, especially the likes of Brook who features across all formats.
“Cricket is such a unique game because there are 12 months in the year,” McCullum said. “It’s not like any other game, you have to be on top of it for 12 months year in and year out.
“It can be a mental challenge for a lot of guys and cricket has a history of problems in that space. So our job as leaders and our job in English cricket is to make sure we look after these guys.”
“Yes, discipline in the times when mistakes are made, but from now on it’s about looking after them and protecting them and trying to put some space between those times.”
England T20 World Cup schedule (first round)
All times UK and Ireland; all matches live on Sky Sports
- v Nepal (Sunday 8 February) – Mumbai (9.30 am)
- v West Indies (Wednesday, February 11) – Mumbai (1:30 p.m.)
- v Scotland (Saturday 14 February) – Kolkata (9.30 am)
- against Italy (Monday, February 16) – Kolkata (9.30 am)
Watch every match of the Men’s T20 World Cup live from February 7 to March 8 on Sky Sports. Get Ski Sports or stream contract free with NOV.