SYDNEY (AP) — England's Harry Brook apologized on Thursday for clashing with a nightclub bouncer in October during the tour of New Zealand that preceded the Ashes series that Australia comprehensively won 4-1.
London's Telegraph reported that Brook, the England white-ball captain, was hit by a bouncer after being denied entry to the club in Wellington on Oct. 31, the day before the third and last one-day international against New Zealand.
Brook was fined about 30,000 pounds ($40,300) at the time and given a final warning for his future conduct. He was not stripped of the white-ball captaincy.
The incident was revealed after England lost the fifth and final Ashes test by five wickets in Sydney. Brook was also the test vice-captain.
“I want to apologize for my actions,” Brook said in a statement. “I fully accept that my behavior was wrong and brought embarrassment to both myself and the England team. Representing England is the greatest honor of all, which I take seriously, and I am deeply sorry for letting down my teammates, coaches and supporters.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board said it was “aware of this incident and it has been dealt with through a formal and confidential ECB disciplinary process.”
Brook said he was “determined to learn from this mistake and to rebuild trust through my future actions, both on and off the field.”
Following the nightclub incident, Brook led England in the ODI against New Zealand which started at 2 p.m. He scored 6 and New Zealand won by two wickets to sweep the series 3-0.
Brook will continue to captain England for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka in two weeks followed by the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka and India next month.
His behavior in New Zealand preceded reports of England players over-indulging in alcohol in the resort town of Noosa, during time off between the second and third Ashes tests, both of which England lost.
England players and management are undergoing a performance review following a disappointing Ashes campaign after the squad travelled to Australia with high expectations.
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England's Harry Brook reacts after he was dismissed during play on day four of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that he will allow service members to carry personal weapons onto military installations, citing the Second Amendment and recent shootings at bases across the country.
In a video posted to X, Hegseth said he is signing a memo that will direct base commanders to allow requests for troops to carry privately owned firearms “with the presumption that it is necessary for personal protection.”
He said any denial of a service member's request must be explained in detail and in writing.
“Effectively, our bases across the country were gun-free zones,” Hegseth said. "Unless you're training or unless you are a military policeman, you couldn't carry, you couldn't bring your own firearm for your own personal protection onto post."
Questions about why service members lacked access to weapons have often emerged following shootings on the nation's military bases. Such shootings have ranged from isolated events between service members to mass casualty events, such as the shootings by an Army psychiatrist at Texas’ Ford Hood in 2009 that left 13 people dead.
Hegseth cited some of the events in his video, including a shooting that injured five soldiers at Fort Stewart in Georgia last year. Officials said the shooter, an Army sergeant who worked at the base, used his personal handgun before he was tackled by fellow soldiers and arrested.
“In these instances, minutes are a lifetime,” Hegseth said. “And our service members have the courage and training to make those precious, short minutes count.”
Defense Department policy has prohibited military personnel from carrying personal weapons on base without permission from a senior commander, with strict protocol for how the firearms must be stored.
Typically, military personnel must officially check their guns out of secure storage to go to on-base hunting areas or shooting ranges, then check all firearms back in promptly after their sanctioned use. Military police are often the only armed personnel on base, outside of shooting ranges, hunting areas or in training, where soldiers can wield their service weapons without ammunition.
Tanya Schardt, senior counsel at the Brady gun violence prevention organization, said in a statement that Defense Department leaders and the military’s top brass have opposed relaxing the current policy, which was originally enacted under President George H.W. Bush.
“Our military installations are among the most guarded, protected properties in the world, and they’ve never been ‘gun-free zones,’” Schardt said. “If there is a problem with violent crime on these installations, then the Secretary of Defense has an obligation to alert the American people and describe how he’s working to prevent that crime."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
