Harry Brook is hoping to come off a “pretty bad” few weeks as he prepares to captain England at the T20 World Cup.
Brook was punched by a bouncer after going out on the eve of a one-day international in New Zealand last autumn, and his indiscretions were publicly exposed on the final day of England’s 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia in January.
The 26-year-old, who was fined £30,000 and given a final warning by the ECB for his actions, initially said he was alone during the brawl in Wellington, but later admitted he had lied “to protect my teammates”.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Jacob Bethell and Josh Tan were also present on the night in question and are being investigated by cricket regulators.
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Will star players Brook, Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer lead England to T20 World Cup glory? Watch the tournament live on Sky Sports
What did Brooke learn from A Winter’s Tale?
Speaking publicly for the first time since the incident, Brooke said on the eve of Sunday’s T20 World Cup opener against Nepal (9.30am UK, live on Sky Sports): “It was pretty bad. It wasn’t a very good time in my life.”
“All I do is hit balls with a bat and that’s what I want to do for the rest of my career. Obviously I made a mistake and I have to put it behind me and focus on more important things.”
“I definitely learned that being a captain carries a lot more responsibility. When you’re a leader, you can’t take that responsibility lightly. You have to be on the team virtually all the time.”
Brook captain admits he lied to protect team-mates about clash with nightclub bouncer in New Zealand
Brook hit his ODI hundred with 57 balls in a 2-1 series win in Sri Lanka, followed by a 12-ball 36 in the second match of a 3-0 T20 sweep against the same opposition.The Yorkshireman added: “It’s strange for a professional sportsman, but when you’re on the wicket as a batsman, everything seems to fly by.
“The only thing you’re concentrating on is the cricket ball. Even when there’s a big crowd, sometimes you don’t realize there’s noise when you’re batting. So luckily I was able to get into that bubble and I was able to bat pretty well.”
England’s XI is packed with spin options
England have been named in the eleven to face Nepal, with Phil Salt now fit to start alongside Jos Buttler after shaking off the back spasms that ruled him out of the final T20 in Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
As a T20I partnership, Buttler (left) and Salt (right) average over 50
Tom Bunton is preferred over middle-order batsman Ben Duckett, left-arm seamer Luke Wood is preferred over all-rounder Jamie Overton, and front-line spinners Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson are supported by Bethel and Will Jacks.
Brook added: “Look at the Indian team, they are one of the best teams to play T20 cricket at the moment and they have about five spinners, so why not give us a little crack in there as well?”
“We are not copying them; on the contrary, they have far more options than most countries.
“We feel like we’re in a really good place in terms of space selection.”
England T20 World Cup fixtures (1st round)
Always UK and Ireland. All matches will be streamed live on Sky Sports
vs Nepal (Sunday 8 February) – Mumbai (9.30am) vs West Indies (Wednesday 11 February) – Mumbai (1.30pm) vs Scotland (Saturday 14 February) – Kolkata (9.30am) vs Italy (Monday 16 February) – Kolkata (9.30am)
Watch the Men’s T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports from February 7th to March 8th. Get Sky Sports now and stream without a contract.
