England's Harry Brook plays a shot during the second T20 cricket match between England and Sri Lanka in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb, 1. 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Prior to the start of England’s three-match ODI and three-match T20I series, England white-ball captain Harry Brook was embroiled in a controversy regarding the off-field incident during the team’s New Zealand Tour last year prior to the Ashes. With Daily Telegraph reporting on the last day of the Ashes series, which England lost 4-1, that the 26-year-old Brook was involved in a brawl with a club bouncer at Wellington during the New Zealand Tour, ECB had sanctioned the cricketer with a fine of 30,000 pounds.
Post his hundred against Sri Lanka in the final ODI at Colombo last month, Brook had indulged in a WWE wrestler Stone Cold’ Steve Austin‑inspired beer smash celebration and former England captain Michael Atherton has termed the celebration as ‘slightly inappropriate’ and how Brook making mistakes irritated him. “It irritates me a little bit when players make mistakes, as Brook did in Wellington. But the focus then shifts away from that individual responsibility.
“This cliché that the cover‑up is worse than the crime is trotted out all the time. Give me a break. It’s ridiculous. If he goes out on the eve of a game, has one too many, gets clocked by a bouncer, and people are saying the problem is in the comms and the PR. At some point, you have to take individual responsibility. I thought the celebration when he got the 100 in Sri Lanka was slightly… I mean, you don’t want to be po‑faced about all this, you can have a bit of humour about it, but I just thought it was slightly inappropriate and didn’t suggest someone who had shown much contrition.”But I agree that people make mistakes. You have to support them after that and help them grow and get better.” Atherton said on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast.
After the Daily Telegraph reported about the incident involving Brook in New Zealand, the ECB had launched a review of the Ashes Tour as well as the New Zealand Tour. Post the report, Brook had admitted about his mistake and incident prior to the first ODI against Sri Lanka at Colombo last month. Brook had also told BBC Sports about him being alone at the time of the incident at Wellington. Day after Brook’s admission, Daily Telegraph reported about England players Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue being present during the incident.
Later, Brook came out with a statement accepting responsibility for his action and acknowledging that other players too were present during the incident. Former England captain Nasser Hussain too weighed upon the issue and shared how it’s unacceptable for an England captain to be going out a night before the game and having too much to ‘drink’.
“There’s been so much noise about it in the last couple of weeks, and rightly so, because he’s an England cricket captain, and you’ve just got to get the certainties out. One thing that is certain: it is totally unacceptable for an England cricket captain, the night before a game, to be going out, having too much to drink, and being clocked by a bouncer. That is just non‑negotiable. I’ve read pieces saying he hasn’t been supported by the ECB and needed more support. For any cricketer of whatever age – and this is a 26‑year‑old who has been around for a while – that is just non‑negotiable as your cricket captain,” said Hussain in the podcast.
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