Harry Brook: England’s white-ball captain after being punched by the goalkeeper in New Zealand

England coach Brendon McCullum, director of cricket Rob Key and Test captain Stokes have previously rejected suggestions about a drinking culture, a sentiment echoed by Brook on Wednesday.

However, England have now imposed a curfew, meaning players and staff must return to the hotel premises by midnight.

“This decision was made as a group decision,” Brock said. “We think the best thing going forward, at the moment, is to be able to put us in situations where we can win cricket matches and perform to the best of our abilities.

“I don’t know what it’s like in other sports, but maybe it’s tougher in rugby and football and things like that. At the moment, I think that’s fair enough.”

Brook was promoted to vice-captain of Stokes in the Ashes Test team.

All-rounder Stokes had previously dealt with a similar ordeal, when he was involved in an altercation outside a Bristol nightclub in 2017. Stokes was later charged with affray and was acquitted but missed the 2017-18 Ashes tour as a result of the incident.

“He obviously wasn’t happy with what I did, but he tried to help me through it,” Brock of Stokes’ reaction said.

“He knows exactly how you feel in that situation. We had some conversations, but we got over that quickly and tried to look forward to the ashes.”

After England’s Ashes campaign was blighted by catches, they appointed a fielding coach for three T20s in Sri Lanka and the World Cup that followed.

Karl Hopkinson, who left the line-up when McCullum took over the white-ball side at the end of 2024, returns on a short-term basis.

Zak Crawley will open the batting against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, winning his ninth ODI cap and first in over two years.

Brook also confirmed that 22-year-old Jacob Bethell will take charge of England’s white-ball teams if he is not available at all.

Bethell became the youngest man to captain England when he led the team in the T20 series in Ireland in September and made his maiden Test century against Australia in Sydney.