Brendon McCullum has pushed back firmly against ongoing scrutiny of England’s response to Harry Brook’s nightclub incident, arguing that the matter was handled appropriately behind closed doors and that repeated public debate serves little purpose.
The England head coach was speaking in the aftermath of a dominant T20 series win over Sri Lanka, during which he also made clear his desire to remain in charge through the upcoming Test summer. McCullum reiterated his belief in Brook as England’s white-ball captain, describing him as an influential figure on the field who is still developing away from it.
The incident in question occurred during England’s time in Wellington, where Brook was punched by a nightclub bouncer. It later emerged that Josh Tongue and Jacob Bethell were also present and were fined by the ECB for their involvement. McCullum confirmed he became aware of the situation during the ODI played the following day, noting that those involved were deeply embarrassed.
"I don't think we need to release all of those findings every time something arises to the media. Others will have their own opinions…The process was done internally at the ECB, which we were all a part of. The boys were under no uncertain terms of how we felt about it, but now our job is to support them,” McCullum said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“And, to be honest, I find it quite annoying that we keep going on and on about it, because these are young men who are under immense pressure and they've put their hand up for something they've been disciplined for, and piling onto them is not helpful for anyone,” he added.
Brook was hopeful that it had been dealt with internally: McCullum
McCullum suggested that trust within the squad encouraged players to be upfront, and defended Brook’s leadership amid criticism surrounding his handling of the fallout. Brook had initially claimed he was alone on the night out, a decision McCullum said was motivated by loyalty to teammates rather than deception.
"I think he was quite keen to put his hand up when the information came that it was going to land in the media. He was hopeful that it had been dealt with internally, as we all were. He is a strong leader, he's a young man, but he's got a very good head on his shoulders and I know people will say he's not that clever."
“I couldn't disagree with that more. He wears his intelligence lightly and he's a very strong leader, and he's someone that they play for in their dressing-room as well, and our job is to just keep looking after him because he is still young,” McCullum added.