- The England opener hits back at his critics – and explains why his words were twisted when discussing how the team were approaching the Champions Trophy
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Ben Duckett is not being disrespectful when he says Jasprit Bumrah will serve 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 just 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-format linchpins, batting more times (22) than any of his team-mates, and scoring more runs (897) than any of them bar Joe Root and Harry Brook. Next on the list, miles behind, was Jacob Bethell, with 543.
There were moments of brilliance: a sweep-heavy 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 Trophy 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 run-scorer in the Champions Trophy, but the team had a miserable campaign
Duckett and his team-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 start to a crucial year for Bazball
Though his T20 batting needs work, he has turned himself into a serious proposition, hitting all round the ground where previously he was pigeonholed as a cutter and a slasher.
Now he faces a year in which he can help shape the legacy of head coach Brendon McCullum. Because just as it’s hard 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 first major challenge in 2025, against the genius of Bumrah, will be as tough as anything his team-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 good 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 just as threatening as Bumrah. But if I can get through that opening 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 good series.’
It’s to Duckett’s credit that he continues to speak freely about Indian cricket, despite two high-profile misadventures, as well as managing director Rob Key’s recent despair at his players talking ‘a lot of rubbish’.
During England’s Test tour of India in early 2024, Duckett upset 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 upset India fans by claiming opening batter Jashasvi Jaiswal (pictured) had been inspired by Bazball, but he insists he was not being serious
Then, last month, with England two down in their three-match ODI series in India, he said: ‘If we lose 3-0, I don’t care, as long as we beat them in the final of the Champions Trophy.’
Critics cited it as proof that England weren’t bothered by defeat, 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 kind of done, and if we lose this next game I would certainly take that if it meant beating India in the final of the Champions Trophy,’ he says. ‘Sure, that didn’t happen, but I wanted to point out we had bigger ambitions for that trip than just that series.’
What about Key’s exasperation? ‘There’s a fine balance with how we want to play as a team and how we come across in the media,’ says Duckett. ‘People think we just want to tee off with the bat and don’t care about winning, which couldn’t be further from the truth. We’re desperate to win and gutted when we lose.’
Duckett turned 30 in October, and is not yet a year into his life as a father following 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 lot 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 help themselves with some of the stuff they say in press conferences and interviews
But Duckett insists England’s player do care and are desperate to win matches
Mainly, though, he wants to score runs, and improve on a conversion rate that has seen him pass 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 loose shot against Sri Lanka at the Oval last September on 86.
‘I’m not going to take my foot off the gas. I want to play for England for the next five or six years. It’s the time of our lives.’