‘Quite annoying’ – Brendon McCullum slams media for excessive scrutiny of Harry Brook incident

England head coach Brendon McCullum has hit back at excessive media attention surrounding captain Harry Brook’s off-field nightclub incident, describing the relentless scrutiny as quite annoying, and defending his player’s focus ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 build-up.  

The issue with Brook and several other English players dates back to an altercation involving England’s T20 captain and a bouncer during England’s tour of New Zealand last year. The right-hander was later fined by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after acknowledging the incident, a sequence of events that made headlines and, according to McCullum, too often overshadowed the cricket itself.

“The process was done internally at the ECB, which we were all a part of. The boys were under no uncertain terms of how we felt about it, but now our job is to support them,” said the New Zealander.

“And, to be honest, I find it quite annoying that we keep going on and on about it, because these are young men who are under immense pressure and they’ve put their hand up for something they’ve been disciplined for, and piling onto them is not helpful for anyone,” McCullum was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

While McCullum acknowledged that Brook needed to learn and grow from the episode, he made it clear that Brook lied to the public about him being the sole presence that night, because he just wanted to protect his fellow players.

“Brooky obviously was trying to protect his other players when he made that comment. I think he was quite keen to put his hand up when the information came that it was going to land in the media. He was hopeful that it had been dealt with internally, as we all were,” he concluded.

Brook publicly apologised and accepted responsibility for initially misleading about the details to protect teammates.

Brendon McCullum defends players amid criticism 

The England coach defended his team, saying that the players are ultimately good cricketers, and that is all that matters. The issue was made public when opener Ben Duckett was filmed in a drunk state on the streets during the Ashes 2025-26.

“I’ll make mistakes. They’ll make mistakes. The environment will make mistakes, but we are trying to look after them. In the end, they’re good at cricket, these lads. That’s what their gift is. They’re good at cricket. They’re not the finished articles as people yet,” he concluded.

England won the recently concluded Sri Lanka series with a thumping 3-0 victory and will head into the T20 World Cup with confidence. The Three Lions will open their campaign against Nepal on February 8.