LONDON: England captain Harry Brook and teammate Jacob Bethell have been warned about their future conduct after an incident in a nightclub during 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 regulations, on Wednesday issued warnings to Brook and Bethell for breaching player conduct rules.
Brook originally claimed that he was alone when he was involved in an altercation with a bouncer at a Wellington nightclub on the eve of a one-day international match on 1 November, an incident that was only revealed two months later.
The ECB fined Brook £30,000 ($40,000) and gave him 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 apologized.
Brook and Bethell played the next day’s match, 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 international squad at the time.
The Regulator “issued a cautionary notice to Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell in relation to their conduct”, according to a statement.
He added that both players had accepted that they had breached the rules of professional conduct.
Many observers believed Brook was lucky to retain the captaincy from the T20 World Cup, where he led 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 criticism, with accusations of poor preparation, confusing team selection and a “drinking culture”.
England’s players were photographed spending hours in bars during a break at a beach resort mid-series, 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 kept their jobs after a review of the tour by the ECB.
