England coach McCullum praises ‘tough lad’ Brook’s response to NZ controversy

England head coach Brendon McCullum is impressed with white-ball captain Harry Brook for his deft handling of a recent controversy and leading the team to a series victory in Sri Lanka ahead of their campaign in the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup.

Brook has been in the eye of a storm since news emerged of his altercation with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand late last year. The 26-year-old apologised last month for the October 31 incident, which he felt caused embarrassment to him and his team.

Under Brook, England won the one-day international series in Sri Lanka 2-1 and swept the T20 series 3-0, a timely boost as they build toward the global tournament.

“He’s had a hard time of late off the field, but he’s a tough lad to be able to put that aside and still lead these boys in the manner that he did, and show the tactical nous that he has as a cricketer was outstanding,” McCullum said after England’s victory in the final T20 match on Tuesday.

“I do sometimes think that people think that Brooky’s not that clever. I couldn’t disagree with that more. He wears his intelligence lightly. He’s got a very good tactical cricket brain.”

McCullum said Brook, who has been fined by the English cricket board for his conduct in New Zealand, needed to improve his behaviour but stressed the mental-health pressures players face in a relentless schedule.

“He’s a work in progress off the field,” the coach said. “He’s not alone with that and that’s our job to help shepherd him through. But on the field, he’s certainly excelling at the moment.”

“Cricket is such a unique game because it’s 12 months of the year … It can be challenging mentally for a lot of guys and cricket’s got a history of issues in that space. So, our job as leaders and our job at English cricket is to make sure we look after these boys.”

England will begin their campaign for a third 20-overs World Cup title with a Group C match against Nepal in Mumbai on Sunday.