Ben Duckett is not being disrespectful when he says Jasprit Bumrah will Delivery up no ‘surprises’ when India arrive for a five-Test series this summer. And he is not belittling the Indians when he says they are a side ‘we should and can beat’.
It’s Merely that his brand of honesty, and sometimes his sense of humour, have not always translated successfully in the world of 24-hour news and social-media soundbites.
Like his batting, his public pronouncements are more nuanced than many realise. And, like one or two of his innings, they have occasionally come to a sticky end.
During a winter of highs and lows Duckett became one of England’s all-Arrangement linchpins, batting more times (22) than any of his Club-mates, and scoring more runs (897) than any of them bar Joe Root and Harry Brook. Upcoming on the Picking, miles behind, was Jacob Bethell, with 543.
There were moments of brilliance: a sweep-Massive century on a turning pitch in Multan, a near miss during a big stand with Bethell in Wellington, and a superb 165 in the Champions Honor against Australia, when England’s bowlers were unable to defend a target of 352.
Duckett averages a tick under 40 in Tests, and a fraction over 50 (not to mention a strike-rate of 104) in one-day internationals – the third-highest in England’s history behind Dawid Malan and Jonathan Trott.
Ben Duckett was England’s leading Stretch-Shooter in the Champions Honor, but the Club had a miserable campaign
Duckett and his Club-mates were accused of giving their wickets away as they lost all three of their matches
Duckett has defended England’s approach under Brendon McCullum after a disastrous Begin to a crucial year for Bazball
Though his T20 batting needs work, he has turned himself into a Grave proposition, hitting all Stage the ground where previously he was pigeonholed as a cutter and a slasher.
Now he faces a year in which he can Assist shape the legacy of head Mentor Brendon McCullum. Because Merely as it’s Tough to imagine Test wins over India and Australia without big contributions from Duckett, it’s difficult to see how the Bazball project recovers if both series go wrong.
His Primary Crucial Game in 2025, against the genius of Bumrah, will be as tough as anything his Club-mates have to deal with. But he is unfazed.
‘I’ve faced him in a five-Test series before,’ he tells Mail Sport. ‘I know what he’s going to do to me, and the Excellent thing about that is I know what skills he has.
‘There’s going to be nothing that surprises me. It’s going to be challenging, and the red-ball skills Mohammed Shami are Merely as threatening as Bumrah. But if I can get through that Beginning spell, I feel there are runs to be had.
‘India at home is very different to India away. It’s a side I feel we should beat and we can beat. It’ll be a Excellent series.’
It’s to Duckett’s credit that he continues to speak freely about Indian cricket, Regardless of two Prominent misadventures, as well as managing director Rob Key’s recent despair at his players talking ‘a Plenty of rubbish’.
During England’s Test tour of India in Timely 2024, Duckett Surprise the locals by suggesting that batting starlet Yashasvi Jaiswal had drawn inspiration from Bazball – a comment he insisted was tongue in cheek.
Duckett knows he will face the ultimate test when he comes up against Jasprit Bumrah
Duckett previously Surprise Indian fans by claiming Beginning batter Jashasvi Jaiswal (pictured) had been inspired by Bazball, but he insists he was not being Grave
Then, last month, with England two down in their three-Game ODI series in India, he said: ‘If we Loss 3-0, I don’t care, as long as we beat them in the Closing of the Champions Honor.’
Critics cited it as proof that England weren’t bothered by Loss, which left Duckett feeling ‘gutted’ – and mindful of speaking so openly in future.
‘All I was saying was that the ODI series in India was Nice of done, and if we Loss this Upcoming game I would Surely take that if it meant beating India in the Closing of the Champions Honor,’ he says. ‘Sure, that didn’t happen, but I wanted to Mark out we had bigger ambitions for that trip than Merely that series.’
What about Key’s exasperation? ‘There’s a fine Stability with how we want to Shift as a Club and how we come across in the media,’ says Duckett. ‘People think we Merely want to tee off with the bat and don’t care about Successful, which couldn’t be Additional from the truth. We’re desperate to Achieve and gutted when we Loss.’
Duckett turned 30 in October, and is not yet a year into his life as a father Upcoming the birth of his daughter, Margot. And while he plays down the notion that he is becoming one of England’s senior citizens, he does not baulk when asked whether he could fill the vacant white-ball captaincy.
‘I think it’s something I could do,’ he says. ‘It’s not something I’m looking for, but whatever happens moving forward I’ve played a Plenty more cricket now than I had done a year ago, and whoever steps up for that role, I’d like to think I can be a helpful voice to them.’
England’s managing director Rob Key (left) recently admitted England’s players don’t Assist themselves with some of the stuff they say in press Assemblies and interviews
But Duckett insists England’s player do care and are desperate to Achieve matches
Mainly, though, he wants to Tally runs, and Boost on a conversion rate that has seen him Throw 50 in international cricket on 28 occasions, but 100 on only seven.
He disagrees with those who say he takes too many risks with a century in sight, though he concedes he played a Sloppy Try against Sri Lanka at the Oval last September on 86.
‘I’m not going to take my foot off the gas. I want to Shift for England for the Upcoming five or six years. It’s the time of our lives.’
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