Duckett's path to redemption

Birmingham: Ben Duckett, the man who ran away with all the spoils in an exhilarating opening Test last week with a smashing century, is a classic example of how a talent gone astray can be resurrected through visionary and empathetic leadership.

Part of the England Lions’ squad, shadow touring the main team during the 2017-18 Ashes series in Australia, Duckett’s career appeared finished when he reportedly poured alcohol over seasoned fast bowler James Anderson during a night out in Perth. The ECB, already under fire with the drinking culture in the team, slapped a huge fine on Duckett.

The raw and aggressive batter, who made waves in age group cricket and was handed a Test debut during the away series in Bangladesh in October 2016, Duckett found the jump to international cricket difficult. Even more so because his first two tours were to the subcontinent — two Tests in Bangladesh followed by the India series. Even for the most accomplished of batters, India is an extremely difficult place to bat. A young Duckett was like a rabbit caught in the headlights against R Ashwin and Co, and following scores of 13, 5 and 0, he was banished from the main side.

The Lions tour of Australia was his chance to make a comeback. In fact, he was about to play a game against the England XI when the transgression happened. It was the final nail in the coffin of the then 23-year-old’s career that promised aplenty but died an early death. Although Duckett realised his mistake, he knew he had blown apart his cricketing career. He already had fitness issues owing to his weight, and the drinking fiasco rubbed salt into the gaping wounds. It’s one thing to lose your place for form but quite another due to indiscipline. One can score runs and regain form, but it’s nearly impossible to change the impression higher-ups form about your character, especially when it comes to drinking and fitness.

The only way back for Duckett was to go back to the domestic circuit, score a mountain of runs, and then hope the administrators have some clemency on him. He switched over from Northamptonshire to Nottinghamshire in 2018, and while the early days were tough, he grew in confidence with every passing season before amassing 1012 runs in 10 games in County Championship Division II in 2022. Simultaneously, he worked on his fitness and prayed for redemption.

It came in 2022 when Ben Stokes was named the captain and Brendon McCullum was appointed coach. The England Test team was in dire straits and the duo, tasked with the responsibility of rebuilding the side, figured the only way to go about it was to shake things upside down. They identified their template would be an aggressive brand of cricket and went about identifying batters who could fit into their system. One of them was Duckett. Both Stokes and McCullum saw an innate fire in Duckett, a natural match-winner who could bludgeon oppositions with his aggressive stroke play.

ECB selectors listened to Stokes, who too had issues with alcohol, and McCullum and handed a recall to Duckett for the away series against Pakistan in 2022. Having waited for five years, Duckett blazed his way to a 107 in the opening game at Rawalpindi and finished the series, which England won 3-0, as the second-highest run-getter (357). Since then, the  30-year-old has not looked back, becoming one of the integral parts of the ‘Bazball’ era, scoring six centuries and playing several match-winning knocks.

The opener sets the foundation with his blistering batting, instantly throwing bowling attacks into the defensive. Although given the licence to kill, Duckett just doesn’t keep firing bullets. He picks his moments and bowlers, ensuring the tempo is always high. It’s a great mix of technique, temperament and temerity, all of which was visible in the opening Test where he smashed 149 off 170 balls to power England to a famous win. He handled Jasprit Bumrah with dexterity, gave Mohammed Siraj the respect, took on Prasidh Krishna and reverse-swept Ravindra Jadeja with impunity.  

It was very evident how determined Duckett is to make another statement against India this series, which is almost like the precursor for the Ashes series Down Under later this year. That’s where he’ll be looking to lay the exclamation point.