‘Quite annoying that we keep going on and on about it’ – McCullum defends squad

England head coach Brendon McCullum has defended Harry Brook, the off-field behaviour of his Ashes squad and his own leadership style, describing some of the criticism they have received in the last few months as a “pile on”.

Speaking after England’s 3-0 T20 series victory over Sri Lanka, McCullum argued the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had handled the fallout from their challenging winter tours “pretty well”.

England white-ball captain Brook has come under significant scrutiny after it was revealed he was punched by a nightclub bouncer on England’s tour of New Zealand that preceded the Ashes.

It was subsequently revealed he had lied about being alone for the encounter and was accompanied by several team-mates – a stance McCullum defended, saying the 25-year-old was trying to “look after his mates”.

The story followed England’s Ashes squad being criticised for a mid-series break in Noosa where several players were reported to be drinking excessively.

In a wide-ranging interview, McCullum, who will lead England in the T20 World Cup which begins in India and Sri Lanka this week, also said:

England beat Sri Lanka by 12 runs on Tuesday, and carry momentum from an undefeated T20 tour that was preceded by a 2-1 ODI series win.

Afterwards, however, New Zealander McCullum, 44, was keen to rally round his captain and players.

He spoke repeatedly of the need to protect cricketers from the unique pressures of a year-round fixture list and believes disciplinary procedures should be kept private – saying Brook was “keen to put his hand up when the information came that it was going to land in the media”.

“It seems like we keep going on and on and on about it,” he said. “I think these guys, they know that they’ve made a mistake and they’ve put their hand up.

“Harry was trying to look after his mates and in the end, people say what they want but our job is to look after him.

“Our job is to make sure we support these guys and I think sometimes the criticism can go too far.

“When we’re made aware of things that haven’t gone right, we discipline them, we have a stern word and deal with things internally.

“I don’t think we need to release those findings every time something arises. We feel like we deal with them and we’ve dealt with the processes of the last little while pretty well.”

Asked whether the ECB could have been more transparent about Brook’s altercation, McCullum reiterated: “I don’t think there was any need to release the details until it was found in the media.

The Daily Telegraph have reported that Brook, Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue could be subject to an investigation from the cricket regulator with regard to the incident in Wellington, which occurred the night before a one-day international which England lost.

The incident, which happened in November, did not come to light in the media until January, and followed a mid-Ashes break in Noosa which also drew criticism for some excessive drinking by players.

“Cricket is 12 months a year, you have to be able to enjoy yourselves. I don’t think the boys went overboard at all,” McCullum said of the Noosa trip.

“A lot of the pile-on for it was completely out of line. Noosa is where people go and retire, there’s a reason why we chose Noosa.

“It’s being made [out] as this big stag do place, it couldn’t be further from that. If we wanted a stag do and we wanted a tear up, we’d have gone to the Gold Coast.”

McCullum’s leadership style has drawn criticism from outsiders, with some feeling the players are given too much freedom on and off the pitch.

However, McCullum bristled at such sentiments and believes his message has been misinterpreted by those outside the dressing room.

“I think you guys [journalists] have got to work me out a little bit better to be honest,” he said.

“If you go back to the day I walked into the job, the first thing I said to these boys is don’t do anything that lands you on the front page of the paper and nothing good happens after midnight, but we’re going to have a good time.

“[I said] we’re going to grow, we’re going to enjoy ourselves, cricket is a tough game, it has its challenges mentally, which we’ve seen with many people that have played cricket in the past, but we’re going to try and play a style of cricket that allows us to succeed.

“I’m not against making sure these boys are controlled in a manner. It’s [about] looking after them to ensure they don’t make mistakes. The curfew is a different interpretation of the words I mentioned three and a half years ago.”

McCullum said he thought there was a “misconception” that he ran a “loose ship” and wanted everyone out drinking, and that he didn’t care about cricket.

“It couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said.

“I’m fiercely determined, I’m fiercely competitive and I want the best for these guys, and I want the best for English cricket.”

England start their World Cup campaign against Nepal on Sunday, 8 February (09:30 GMT).

Brook will lead the team in India and Sri Lanka and McCullum says he is impressed by the Yorkshireman’s captaincy so far.

“I think Harry Brook is an outstanding leader on the field,” he added. “His tactical acumen is as good as I’ve seen in a short period of time from a young man.

“He has work to do off the field without a doubt, as do some of the other young lads we have in our side – and that’s what happens when you come in at 20 and you’re growing up on a world stage with spotlight, fame, fortune and the pressure that comes with it.

“He’s a strong leader, he’s a young man but he’s got a very good head on his shoulders. People will say he’s not that clever, I couldn’t disagree with that more, he wears his intelligence lightly and he’s a very strong leader.