Brendon McCullum on Harry Brook, Ashes and Noosa trip
The Daily Telegraph reported that Brook, Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue could be investigated by the cricket regulator over the incident in Wellington the night before a one-day international which England lost.
The incident, which occurred in November, was not reported in the media until January and followed the Ashes break in Noosa, which sparked criticism of players’ excessive drinking.
“Cricket is 12 months a year, you’ve got to be able to enjoy it. I don’t think the kids are overdoing it,” McCullum said of the trip to Noosa.
“A lot of the agglomerations were completely out of line. Noosa is where people go and retire; there’s a reason we chose Noosa.
“It’s being done [out] Now that this big deer has happened, it can’t be any more than that. “If we wanted to moose and shed tears, we’d go to the Gold Coast.”
McCullum’s leadership style faced criticism from outside; some feel that players are given too much freedom on and off the field.
But McCullum bristled at such sentiments and believes his message was misinterpreted by those outside the locker room.
“I guess you guys [journalists] “Honestly, I need to coach me a little better,” he said.
“If you go back to the day I got the job, the first thing I told these kids was don’t do anything that’s going to put you on the front page of the newspapers and nothing good happens after midnight, but we’re going to have a good time.
“[I said] We will grow, we will have fun, cricket is a difficult game, it has its challenges mentally, we have seen this with many people who have played cricket in the past, but we will try to play a style of cricket that will allow us to be successful.
“I am not against these children being controlled in some way. [about] I take care of them to make sure they don’t make mistakes. “The curfew is a different interpretation of the words I mentioned 3.5 years ago.”
McCullum said he thought there was a “misconception” that he ran a “loose ship” and wanted everyone out drinking, and that he was not interested in cricket.
“It couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said.
“I’m extremely determined, extremely competitive and I want the best for these guys and I want the best for English cricket.”
England will begin 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 has been impressed with the Yorkshireman’s captaincy so far.
“I think Harry Brook is an outstanding leader on the pitch,” he added. “His tactical intelligence is as good as I have seen from a young man in a short time.
“He’s got work to do off the pitch, no doubt, as do the other lads in our side – and that’s what happens when you come in at 20 and grow up on the world stage with attention, fame, fortune and the pressure that comes with it.
“He’s a strong leader, a young man but he’s got a very good head on his shoulders. People will say he’s not that smart, I couldn’t agree more, he underestimates his intelligence and he’s a very strong leader.
“He is a player they play for in the dressing room and our job is to continue to look after him because he is young and his best days are ahead of him.”
