Brendan McCallum has dismissed criticism that England’s behavior is “out of order” and slammed the perception that England are “loose”.

England faced accusations of a “drinking culture” after their 4-1 Ashes defeat, with news that white-ball captain Brooke had an altercation with a nightclub bouncer during a previous tour of New Zealand.

Brooke began his tour of Sri Lanka with an apology and insisted he was out alone, but after reports emerged that Jacob Bethell and Josh Tonge had also been fined, he was forced to issue a statement admitting this was not true.

In an extensive interview afterwards T20 series win over Sri LankaHead coach McCullum said: “I don’t think there’s a need to release the details until it’s obvious to the media.

“The kids made a mistake. They’re not the first to do it and they won’t be the last.

“The process was done within the ECB, we are all part of the ECB. I think we have handled the process very well over the last period of time. They were severely reprimanded.

“And, honestly, I find it annoying that we keep talking about it.

“Brooke was obviously trying to protect other players when he made this comment. I was not aware of the comment until I was told because I personally don’t read the media. Harry is trying to look out for his teammates.

“He is a strong leader, he is a young man but he has a good mind.

“I know people are going to say he’s not that smart. I totally disagree with that. His intelligence is underrated and they work for him in the locker room.”

“I feel like a lot of things are completely abnormal”

The England and Wales Cricket Board is conducting an investigation into the winter, focusing on behavior after a series of incidents, including Ben Duckett being accused of “stag behavior” after he was photographed looking worse for wear during a trip to Noosa.

“I don’t think the kids took it too far,” McCallum added. “In fact, I think a lot of it is completely out of order.

“Noosa is where people retire. We chose Noosa for a reason. It’s thought to be where this big buck lives.

“This is far from it. If we wanted a stag show and we wanted a den, we would go to the Gold Coast.

“It’s not all about what happens on the field. If you do that, you’re not going to last long in this game. Again, I felt like a lot of things were completely out of character, the aftermath or the build-up to it.

“Ultimately, they’re good at cricket. That’s their talent. They haven’t become human yet.”

There will be a midnight curfew for players during Sri Lanka and the upcoming T20 World Cup.

McCullum said after the Ashes he was keen to continue taking charge in light of the changes implemented.

He said that was still the case and laughed off the idea that he was against the curfew.

“If you go back to the day I started, the first thing I said to these boys was, ‘Don’t do anything that gets you on the front page of the newspaper and nothing good is going to happen after midnight,'” McCallum said.

“I think the misconception out there is that I run this loose ship and I want everyone to be out there playing all the time and not care about cricket.

“That couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m determined and competitive. We’re going to have a good time, we’re going to grow and we’re going to enjoy ourselves.

“I want the best for these people. I want to make sure we take care of them.”

English T20 World Cup Schedule (First Round)

All times UK and Ireland; all games live on Sky Sports

• vs. Nepal (Sunday, February 8) – Mumbai (9.30am)
• vs. West Indies (Wednesday, February 11) – Mumbai (1.30pm)
• vs Scotland (Saturday 14 February) – Kolkata (9.30am)
• vs. Italy (Monday, February 16) – Kolkata (9.30am)

Watch every match of the Men’s T20 World Cup from February 7 to March 8 on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or Contract-free streaming with NOW.