LONDON: England white-ball captain Harry Brook and teammate Jacob Bethell have been warned about their future behavior following a nightclub incident on the pre-Ashes tour of New Zealand last year.
The Cricket Regulator – a body independent of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) responsible for enforcing the rules – issued warnings to Brook and Bethell on Wednesday for breaching the player’s conduct rules.
Brook initially claimed he was on his own when he became involved in an altercation with a bouncer at a Wellington nightclub on the eve of a one-day international on November 1, an incident that was not revealed until two months later.
Brook was fined £30,000 ($40,000) by the ECB and given a final warning.
He later admitted that Bethell and fast bowler Josh Tongue had been present, explained that he had lied to try to protect his teammates and publicly apologised.
Brook and Bethell both played in the match the following day, which England lost by two wickets to complete a 3–0 series defeat.
No action was taken against Tongue, who was not in the one-day squad at the time.
The regulator “issued a warning to Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell in relation to their conduct”, a statement said.
It added that both players had accepted that they were in breach of the rules of professional conduct.
Many observers believed that Brook was lucky to retain the captaincy for the T20 World Cup, leading England to the semi-finals before losing to India in Mumbai.
England’s off-field behavior in Australia before and during the 4-1 Ashes defeat came under heavy fire, with allegations of poor preparation, confused team selection and a “drinking culture”.
England players were photographed spending hours in bars during a mid-series beach holiday, with a video of an apparently drunk Ben Duckett circulating on social media.
England Test captain Ben Stokes, coach Brendon McCullum and director of men’s cricket Rob Key all kept their jobs after an ECB review of the tour.
