But it emerged during the investigations into Stokes and Atkinson’s trip to the Rex Rooms nightclub in Chelsea – where Atkinson was involved in an altercation with a Saracens rugby player – that the details of the curfew were unclear. Rather than charging the players with breaking the curfew, the ECB said they had “breached specific contractual obligations”.
England players were sent fresh guidance on the team’s alcohol policy later in the Test series, which was published by the Telegraph on Friday. It included a recommendation that “no alcohol should be consumed” between the day before a match starts and the day after it ends, as well as a clause that McCullum and managing director Rob Key could overrule the guidance.
“For a start, there’s not many of our guys that actually drink,” McCullum said, “but anyone that wants a beer can have a beer, yes. The guidelines are in place. People are very aware of the guidelines. They’ve been sent around. The policy is designed to make sure that people are being looked after and making the right decisions.
“I trust the players completely. All the information is there. You still have to feel the warmth of success and if you are someone that likes a beer, then tonight is a great opportunity to be able to enjoy yourself – as long as it’s sensible, and it’s not to excess – and allow something that you’ve achieved over the last ten days or so sink in the way that you want it to.
“But everyone’s very aware of it [the guidance] and I think we’ll have a quiet beer and just let this one land – just as long as no-one lands on the front page.”
McCullum said on Sunday that Brook, England’s white-ball captain and the frontrunner to replace Ben Stokes as Test captain, had shown “immense” growth since that incident, and that their relationship had “gone to a new level” in the months since.
“He probably didn’t quite understand the standing he had within the game and English cricket, and the responsibilities that come with that stuff,” McCullum said, adding: “Sometimes, a mistake like that can be the making of someone. He acknowledged that he’s grown immensely since then, and he’s got a significant future in front of him as a leader in English cricket.”
McCullum declined to answer a specific question about Brook’s suitability to lead England across all three formats, saying he was “hesitant” to take the focus off the T20 side’s success. But he heaped praise on Brook’s efforts as captain against India, and compared their relationship to a father-son dynamic.
“I consider him not just a good mate, but I feel like he’s almost one of my other sons,” McCullum said. “He hasn’t always got everything right and he’s made mistakes off the field, but the growth that we’ve seen in him over the last 12 months or so has been immense.
“He’s very well respected in the dressing room as a leader, as a tactician, and obviously as a player, but he’s growing at unbelievable speed and I thoroughly enjoy working with him. I feel like we’re able to get the best out of each other, and I’m sure that’ll continue over the time to come.”
McCullum also praised England’s focus throughout the T20Is, which came immediately after a wretched month on and off the field, culminating in a 2-1 Test series defeat to New Zealand and Stokes’ retirement. “Obviously the Test matches didn’t go how we wanted [them] to and things were pretty noisy,” he said.
“[Winning 4-0] is immensely satisfying, so a week is a long time in sport. Things can alter quite quickly, and the key is to try to remove the emotion from things at times, and still look at the job and the task at hand. I thought the boys were brilliant at that.”
Matt Roller is a senior correspondent at Cricinfo. @mroller98
