Brook was allegedly struck by a bouncer after being refused entry to a Wellington club on Oct. 31, the evening before the third one-day international against New Zealand.
He faced a fine of approximately 30,000 pounds ($40,300) from the England and Wales Cricket Board and received a final warning regarding his future conduct. Despite this, he was not stripped of his white-ball captaincy and retained the role of test vice-captain for the Ashes, which Australia won 4-1.
“I made a grave error, both as a player and as a captain,” Brook stated Wednesday, just before the first match of England’s six-game white-ball tour in Sri Lanka. “It’s exceedingly unprofessional, and I should be setting an example and demonstrating how to conduct oneself as a professional cricketer and captain. I put myself in an unfortunate position.
“I want to apologize to my teammates and to all the fans who travel great distances and spend significant amounts of money to watch us play. We had a few drinks beforehand, and then I decided to go out for a few more on my own.
Brook indicated he would have understood if the captaincy had been taken from him after he reported the incident to the ECB.
“(Resigning) never crossed my mind,” he said. “I left that decision to the hierarchy, and if they had decided to remove me from the captaincy, I would have accepted it as long as I could continue playing cricket for England.
When reflecting on his continued captaincy, Brook remarked: “Perhaps slightly fortunate. Even if I had been removed, I would have acknowledged my mistake.”
England is currently in Sri Lanka for a series of three ODIs — commencing Thursday — and three T20s in preparation for the T20 World Cup beginning Feb. 7. The event will be hosted in India and Sri Lanka.
“I feel I have some work to do to regain the trust of my teammates. I expressed my apologies to them yesterday,” Brook mentioned.
First Published: Jan 21, 2026 6:16 PM IST
