Former England captain Michael Vaughan has said that he was not surprised after learning that England’s white-ball captain and Test vice captain Harry Brook was involved in a late-night fight with a nightclub bouncer during the tour of New Zealand, where England lost 3-0.
The incident, which happened before the Ashes, was reported by The Daily Telegraph right when England lost the series to Australia by a 1-4 margin. Brook, who was struck by the club’s bouncer after being refused entry to the club, apologised for “bringing embarrassment” on his team with the incident in New Zealand.
According to the report, Brook was fined 30,000 pounds ($40,300) and given a final warning for his future conduct. Brook was not stripped of the white-ball captaincy, in fact, just hours after the incident Brook led England in the third ODI the next afternoon at 2 p.m. He was dismissed for six runs in that game which New Zealand won by two wickets to sweep the series 3-0. Brook also continued to be the vice captain of the England team in the recently-concluded Ashes tour.
England’s disastrous Ashes series against Australia has also been under the lens for incidents of players over-indulging in alcohol at the resort town of Noosa. These much-criticised drinking sessions happened during the days between the second and third Ashes Tests, both of which England lost.
“The incident doesn’t surprise me. They’ve (England team) been quite loose for a while. And I guess, you know, whether it’s consequences with shots that have been played over the course of the last three years, there hasn’t been one,” Michael Vaughan told BBC. “And now obviously the loose nature of this environment. The Noosa trip was fine for me, but the Noosa trip on the back of what we now know went on in New Zealand. You have to point the finger at the leadership group or the ECB, because if they knew, and then we had this incident, and then he played the next day as England captain,” he added.
England’s Harry Brook reacts during play on day two of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney. (AP Photo)
Vaughan slammed England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) senior leadership and demanded that they take responsibility.
“You have to say that the highest level of management of the ECB have to look at themselves in the mirror, because they were clearly trying to brush that under the carpet because the Ashes were coming up. If they dealt with it there and then, it would have been a big story… but out the way,” Vaughan stated. “For it now to have broken on the back of losing 4-1 in Australia, on the back of what happened in Noosa, on the looseness of the players in terms of their discipline with some of their strokes. The whole culture around the team, the group, and the ECB as well needs to change.”
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Brook has come under fire from many England legends like Michael Atherton and Geoffrey Boycott for his batting. Boycott, in fact, bashed Brook as a “waste of talent” during the Ashes.
Brook’s apology
“I want to apologise for my actions. I fully accept that my behaviour was wrong and brought embarrassment to both myself and the England team,” Brook was quoted as saying in a statement by the BBC.
“Representing England is the greatest honour of all, which I take seriously and I am deeply sorry for letting down my teammates, coaches and supporters. I have reflected on the lessons it has taught me about responsibility, professionalism and the standards expected of those representing your country. I am determined to learn from this mistake and to rebuild trust through my future actions, both on and off the field. I apologise unreservedly and will work hard to ensure this does not happen again.”
A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said: “We are aware of this incident and it has been dealt with through a formal and confidential ECB disciplinary process. The player involved has apologised and acknowledged their conduct fell below expectations on this occasion.”