Brook fined for bouncer scuffle as Ashes inquest begins

ECB SCRUTINISES BOOZY ANTICS

- By RORY DOLLARD

ENGLAND’S Harry Brook has issued a public apology for his part in a late night altercation on the pre-Ashes tour of New Zealand, as scrutiny over the culture and drinking habits of the team overshadowed yet another defeat Down Under.

A matter of hours after Australia hit the winning runs in Sydney to seal a crushing 4-1 win, breaking news from the Telegraph plunged an already beaten squad closer to the cliff edge of crisis.

It reported that Brook, Test vice-captain in Australia and the white-ball skipper who will lead his country in next month's T20 World Cup, had become embroiled in a scuffle with a nightclub bouncer in Wellington on October 31.

That was the night before the third ODI against New Zealand, on a tour that had been billed as a central part of England’s Ashes preparation for Brook, several other players and the coaching staff.

It is the latest unwelcome episode to dog a winter that has seen England heavily criticised for a mid-Ashes break to the beach resort of Noosa - which some onlookers said resembled a boozy ‘stag do.

And concerns over the looseness of the regime’s professional boundaries under managing director of men’s cricket Rob Key and head coach Brendon McCullum are now at fever pitch, with both men’s jobs in the line of fire.