Michael Atherton wants Harry Brook to take personal responsibility for his off‑field troubles after showing a lack of contrition with his 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin‑inspired celebration, which the former England captain labelled "slightly inappropriate".
News emerged at the end of the 4-1 Ashes defeat - during which England faced accusations of a "drinking culture" - that Brook had been involved in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer on the preceding tour of New Zealand.
Brook began the tour of Sri Lanka by apologising and insisting that he had been out alone, but later had to release a statement admitting that was not true after reports surfaced that Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue had also been fined.
The Brook incident has dominated England's trip to Sri Lanka, and there has been fierce criticism of the captain and management for attempting to cover up the involvement of all players.
So it came as a surprise when the Yorkshire batter chose to celebrate his ODI‑winning century in Colombo with the beer‑smash gesture made famous by WWE star 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin.
"It irritates me a little bit when players make mistakes, as Brook did in Wellington," Atherton told the Your Site Cricket podcast. "But the focus then shifts away from that individual responsibility.
"This cliché that the cover‑up is worse than the crime is trotted out all the time. Give me a break. It's ridiculous.
"If he goes out on the eve of a game, has one too many, gets clocked by a bouncer, and people are saying the problem is in the comms and the PR. At some point, you have to take individual responsibility.
"I thought the celebration when he got the 100 in Sri Lanka was slightly… I mean, you don't want to be po‑faced about all this, you can have a bit of humour about it, but I just thought it was slightly inappropriate and didn't suggest someone who had shown much contrition.
"But I agree that people make mistakes. You have to support them after that and help them grow and get better."
Atherton's comments came after podcast co‑host Nasser Hussain argued that Brook should be given the chance to atone, despite describing the actions and decisions he took leading up to the nightclub incident in New Zealand as incompatible with the role of captain.
"There's been so much noise about it in the last couple of weeks, and rightly so, because he's an England cricket captain, and you've just got to get the certainties out," Hussain added.
"One thing that is certain: it is totally unacceptable for an England cricket captain, the night before a game, to be going out, having too much to drink, and being clocked by a bouncer. That is just non‑negotiable.
"I've read pieces saying he hasn't been supported by the ECB and needed more support. For any cricketer of whatever age - and this is a 26‑year‑old who has been around for a while - that is just non‑negotiable as your cricket captain.
"But having said that, people do make mistakes in life, and you have to give them the chance to put those mistakes right.
"He plays in a Test side with someone who made a huge mistake, and has made mistakes, in Ben Stokes, who has tried to put his off‑field life right. Ricky Ponting, one of the great captains and players to have ever played the game, had a similar incident growing up and put his life right.
"Harry got it horribly wrong, as we all have done in our lives. The question is: does he look like someone who can put it right, and wants to put it right, off the field?"
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