The players were greeted in Perth with a series of comical headlines from the local newspapers, but the left-handed batsman said they had been warmly received. Since his Test recall in 2022, Duckett has been England’s leading run-scorer among openers. In the 2023 Ashes, he scored 321 runs at an average of 35.66.
“This group that we have, I actually saw the other day that I’m the fourth oldest, which was hard to see. So there’s quite a new group coming here where there’s not a lot of baggage, which I think will help us,” Duckett said on the Willow Talk podcast.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge. You know how tough it is for touring sides who come here. I’m not expecting or setting any goals for myself. I know I’m opening up the batting against probably the best bowling attack in the world in their home conditions,” he added.
For the opening Test, the attack will be without Pat Cummins, who is still recovering from a lumbar stress injury. There are hopes he will be available for the second Test, and he completed another solid training session at the SCG on Tuesday.
“You want to play against the best and you don’t want guys like that to miss out in series like this. But on the other hand, I’m an opening batsman and he’s probably one of the best bowlers in the world. So yeah, quietly I hope it’s not too bad, but obviously every match he doesn’t play in is an advantage for us,” Duckett said.
Bazball approach becomes more nuanced: Duckett
Much of the discussion leading up to the series focused on how Bazball will fare in Australian conditions, but Duckett said their approach, both individually and as a team, is becoming more nuanced.
‘I think it’s definitely about reading moments now. [Brendon McCullum] will come to me and say, now you’re a better player than just getting 40 out of 30 and getting us off to a good start. There are moments as an opening batsman, for example, it could be in Perth in a few weeks where we have five overs to face at the end of the day. And I did it last summer against India, where I actually just got through. I don’t care how many runs you have, be there in the morning,” Duckett said.
“I think that’s where we’re trying to go as a team now. It’s not just about being an entertaining, sometimes reckless side. And it’s something that I’ve been frustrated with myself in the past, where I might have got 80 out of 60 and it looks great and all that, but they’re going to put my side in a good position. So it’s realizing moments and doing that and then going on and getting a big score. And I think that’s where we really are. I want to go now as a side, he added.
Stokes is the most important man on the team: Duckett
Duckett described captain Ben Stokes as probably the most important man in the team and said he was surprised by the intensity of his training.
“All I can say is we’ve been here for a few days and he’s in beast mode. He’s been running, bowling for two spells and batting for two hours. The way he’s training these days and everything is something I’ve never seen before. He’s obviously probably the most important man in this side when he’s bowling. So hopefully he stays fit for all five Tests and bowls them all because he’s crucial for us,” concluded Duckett.
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