Harry Brook said supporters have «every right to be annoyed» with his behaviour after he was punched by a nightclub bouncer on England’s tour of New Zealand that preceded the Ashes.
Brook, England’s white-ball captain, was involved in the altercation the night before the third one-day international in Wellington on 1 November – a game England lost.
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He was fined and given a final warning over his conduct, though the incident and punishment only came to light more than two months later after the final Test against Australia in Sydney, at the end of a dismal series England lost 4-1.
England’s tour of Australia was dogged by criticism of their preparation and approach, particularly the drinking that took place on a holiday in Noosa when Brook was one of the players pictured in bars.
Players and staff are now subject to a midnight curfew, which has come into effect on the tour of Sri Lanka.
Although Brook was England’s second highest run-scorer in Australia with 358, the 26-year-old was still below his best, passing 50 only twice and often falling to rash strokes.
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When asked by BBC Sport if he understood the anger of supporters towards England’s performances and the off-field incidents, Brook replied: «Definitely. They have every right to be annoyed. I’ve made a terrible mistake.
«I’ve put myself in a situation which I shouldn’t have done. Did it affect my cricket? I don’t think so. I’d have still played the same way. Obviously, I didn’t get a score that I’d have liked, but I still played the same way.
«I’m extremely sorry to all the supporters for what I did in New Zealand. I’ve got to try and regain their trust again in my ability, in my cricket on the field and off the field. I’m hoping that they can expect I’ll be slightly different away from the game. I’ll be more professional.
«That’s what I’ve got to do now for the rest of my career, hopefully. I just want to be back playing as good cricket as I possibly can be.»
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Brook is in Colombo leading England in their white-ball series against Sri Lanka, which begins with the first one-day international on Thursday.
Speaking for the first time since the New Zealand incident was made public, the Yorkshire batter said:
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he was not with any other England players when he was «clocked» by the nightclub bouncer
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he reported the incident to England management during the third one-day international
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he thought there was a possibility he would be sacked, but did not consider resigning
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he has apologised to his team-mates and acknowledged he has «work to do» to regain their trust
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he rejected allegations of a drinking culture, but said the curfew was a «group decision»
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Test captain Ben Stokes «wasn’t best pleased» when he was told
Brook was placed in charge of England’s white-ball teams last summer – the tour of New Zealand was his first overseas as captain.
Though he said he did not want to «go into any details» of the Wellington incident, he said it began with some players «going out for food».
«There was no intention of going out, no intention of putting ourselves in a tricky situation,» he said.
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«I took it upon myself to go out for a few more and I was on my own there. I shouldn’t have been there.
«I was trying to get into a club and the bouncer just clocked me, unfortunately. I wouldn’t say I was absolutely leathered. I’d had one too many drinks.»
Brook did not confirm what time he returned to the England hotel, but said it was «late enough». The following day he was out for six as England slumped to 44-5 in a game they eventually lost by two wickets.
Midway through the game in Wellington, he reported the incident to England management. He was subsequently fined around £30,000 and given the final warning, with the disciplinary proceedings concluded before the Ashes tour.
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When asked if he expected to be sacked, Brook replied: «It was definitely playing through my mind.»
On resigning, he added: «No, it never came into my mind. I left that decision to the hierarchy. If they’d have sacked me from being captain, then I’d have been perfectly fine with it as long as I was still playing cricket for England.»
‘We were drinking responsibly, bar one situation’
Brook first apologised through a statement issued after the final Ashes Test, and offered repeat apologies to supporters when he spoke in Colombo. He also offered a further apology to his team-mates on Tuesday.
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«I’ve got a little bit of work to do to try and regain the trust of the players,» he said.
«I felt like I needed to say sorry for my actions. It’s not acceptable as a player, but as a captain it’s really not acceptable to do what I did in New Zealand. I hold my hands up.»
England spent time in the beach resort of Noosa between the second and third Ashes Tests, by which time they were already 2-0 down in the series.
Brook was one of a number of players pictured drinking during the four-night stay on the Queensland coast. In a video captured by a member of the public and released on social media, opener Ben Duckett appeared to be drunk and unsure how to return to the team hotel.
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England went ahead with the Noosa trip despite the Brook incident. Asked why he was happy to be seen drinking in public after the trouble in New Zealand, Brook said: «We weren’t exactly happy to be photographed. We were looking over our shoulder every second to see if there’s a camera there.
«We were drinking responsibly, bar one situation. Other than that, we were completely in control of what we were doing. We were just going out and having a drink and it was nothing silly.»
Brook could end up as the only player to feature in every game of England’s winter, across New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka and the T20 World Cup that begins next month.
While he said he has to be able to «relax away from the game», it was put to him there could have been others way of doing that in Australia, aside from drinking.
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«It wasn’t just drinking,» he said. «We weren’t just going out and getting leathered every day. We were having a few drinks here and there.
«We were playing plenty of golf, going to nice cafes, having coffees but we had a few drinks here and there. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It’s just what human beings do.»
England head coach Brendon McCullum, director of cricket Rob Key and Test captain Stokes have previously rejected suggestions of a drinking culture, which Brook echoed on Wednesday.
However, England have now enforced a curfew, meaning players and staff have to be back on hotel premises by midnight.
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«That’s been made as a group decision,» said Brook. «We think that it’s the best thing going forward, for the time being, to be able to put us in situations where we can win games of cricket and perform at the best of our ability.
«I don’t know what it’s like in other sports, but it’s probably a lot stricter in rugby, football and stuff like that. For the time-being, I think it’s fair enough.»
Brook was promoted to Stokes’ vice-captain in the Test team for the Ashes.
All-rounder Stokes has previously dealt with similar adversity, when he was involved in an altercation outside a Bristol nightclub in 2017. Stokes was subsequently charged with and cleared of affray but he missed the 2017-18 Ashes tour as a result of the incident.
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«He obviously wasn’t best pleased at what I’d done, but he tried to help me through it,» said Brook of Stokes’ reaction.
«He knows exactly what it feels like to be in this situation. We had a few conversations, but we quickly moved on from that and tried to look forward to the Ashes.»
After England’s Ashes campaign was blighted by dropped catches, they have employed a fielding coach for the three T20s in Sri Lanka and the World Cup that follows.
Carl Hopkinson, who left the set-up when McCullum assumed control of the white-ball team at the end of 2024, returns on a short-term basis.
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Zak Crawley will open the batting against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, winning his ninth ODI cap and first for more than two years.
Brook also confirmed 22-year-old Jacob Bethell would take charge of England’s white-ball teams if he is ever not available.
Bethell became the youngest man to captain England when he led the side in a T20 series in Ireland in September and made his maiden Test century against Australia in Sydney.
