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Brook lied 'to protect' others after nightclub altercation
Harry Brook has admitted other England players were present when he was "clocked" by a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand.
The England white-ball skipper told media last week he was out on his own in Wellington on 1 November, the evening before a one-day international.
But in a statement released on Friday, the Yorkshireman conceded others were with him and he lied to protect them "from being drawn into a situation".
The statement came after the Daily Telegraph reported, external that Brook and two of his team-mates, Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue, could be subject to an investigation from the cricket regulator.
"I accept responsibility for my actions in Wellington and acknowledge others were present that evening," said Brook who is currently in Sri Lanka preparing for the T20 World Cup, which starts in India on Saturday, 7 February.
"I regret my previous comments and my intention was to protect my team-mates from being drawn into a situation that arose as a result of my own decisions.
"I have apologised and will continue to reflect on the matter. This has been a challenging period in my career, but one from which I am learning.
I recognise I have more to learn regarding the off-field responsibilities that come with leadership and captaincy. I remain committed to developing in this area and to improving both personally and professionally.
Brook was placed in charge of England's white-ball teams last summer and the tour of New Zealand was his first overseas as captain.
The 26-year-old was involved in the altercation the night before the third one-day international in Wellington on 1 November – a game England lost.
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.
In an interview with BBC Sport last week, Brook said he didn't want to "go into any details" of the Wellington incident, but 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.
"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.
England men's director of cricket Rob Key told BBC Sport the England and Wales Cricket Board had investigated the night out in Wellington when it happened, with Brook saying he reported it to his employers the day after it took place.
The Telegraph story says the cricket regulator is preparing a report after receiving paperwork on Brook, Bethell and Tongue from the ECB last week.
The body, set-up in 2023 and headed-up by Chris Haward, a former chief constable of Lincolnshire police, has freedom to operate as it sees fit. It is able to fine or suspend players for disciplinary offences.
Brook's statement is the latest act in a series of incidents involving drinking that dogged the England team through the New Zealand tour, the Ashes series that followed and its aftermath.
The drinking that took place on a mid-tour holiday in Noosa was particularly scrutinised, and Brook was one of the players pictured in the Queensland resort's bars.
Stephan Shemilt, BBC chief cricket reporter
England's on-field results have improved, but they simply cannot shake the off-field stench that has engulfed their winter. There are serious questions as to whether the management of the England team, or the leaders of the England and Wales Cricket Board, can repair the reputational damage.
It was always highly implausible that Brook was alone the night he was "clocked" by a nightclub bouncer in Wellington.
His lie is understandable – he was trying to protect his friends and team-mates. He is unlikely to face further sanction from England, because the management have known since November what happened that night. A potential punishment from the regulator is a different matter.
But the drip-feeding of detail only serves to paint everyone involved in an increasingly murky light.
England will say that internal disciplinary matters are kept confidential. On the one hand, that is a fair point – every employee in every business has the right for such issues to be kept private. Imagine the reaction in the Australian media had England gone public during the Ashes?
But it can also be argued professional sport is different. Athletes and players are accountable to fans as well as their employers. Did supporters that travelled to Australia, or followed from afar, have a right to know what was going on?
All of head coach Brendon McCullum, director of cricket Rob Key and ECB chief executive Richard Gould have made public comments since the Brook incident without making reference to it. None have spoken since it came to light.
On 23 December, Key spoke about that night in Wellington and said it was only worthy of "informal" action. He was not referring specifically to the nightclub incident, yet was still speaking will full knowledge of it.
Publicly and privately throughout the Ashes, McCullum defended England's drinking, again with full knowledge of Wellington. At the end of the series, Gould pledged to review player behaviour, with no mention of New Zealand.
Once Brook was exposed by the Telegraph, would England not have been better to make full disclosure of all details, rather than a trickle of information that makes all involved look foolish and chips away at whatever meagre credibility remains? What else could come out?
It also makes any attempts to now tighten the culture around the England team look empty.
A midnight curfew and the addition of a fielding coach have only come after England lost the Ashes, yet the biggest misdemeanour of the winter took place before a ball was bowled in Australia.
Everyone connected with the England team knew the environment was loose before the first day of the first Test in Perth and did nothing about it until the urn was gone.
Source: BBC
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