Ben Duckett believes his more alternative skill set could complement England’s big-hitters within the defence of their T20 World Cup crown in June.
England have a surfeit of batters who can clear the ropes with ease and, while Duckett relies more on field manipulation and piercing the gaps quite than outright power, it may be no less effective.
Ben Stokes showed how priceless a T20 anchor could be during England’s 2022 triumph, but his request to not be considered within the Caribbean and United States leaves the highest and middle order in need of left-handed options.
With Dawid Malan out-of-favour, Duckett, who has a strike-rate of 145 in a dozen T20 internationals but has often been on the fringes of the set-up, might be a useful inclusion in England’s 15-strong squad.
“The fantastic thing about what I do is different to numerous guys,” England’s Test opener told the PA news agency. “That aspect of not necessarily having the facility, but I can use my skills to seek out ways to get on top.
“I’m 29 now and I’m not going to attempt to be someone I’m not only to attempt to get right into a side. I’ve worked out through the years if I develop into the very best version of myself, that’s all I could be.
“Whatever opportunity I get moving forward in that group is something I’d take with each hands. If I don’t get picked then I don’t get picked. There are an inventory of players knocking on that door.
“It’s not prefer it’s me and a few others, there are 10 or 15 lads who could come into that side and perform at that level. That’s the great thing about English cricket, so I suppose we’ll see.”
England have 4 tune-up matches against Pakistan next month before flying to the Caribbean and are expected to call a squad for the series and a provisional pack for the World Cup next week.
Unless summoned by Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott, Duckett will happily keep playing for Nottinghamshire within the Vitality County Championship and T20 Blast ahead of England’s first Test this summer against the West Indies at Lord’s, starting on July 10.
Their last task ended with a 4-1 defeat in India and, although Duckett acquitted himself fairly well, with a shocking 153 off 151 balls in Rajkot the high point, he faced some backlash for suggesting England’s style under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum had influenced star opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The 22-year-old finished as player of the series after two excellent double lots of, but he had already cultivated a formidable status as an attack-minded dasher within the Indian Premier League.
Duckett feels his comments about Jaiswal were taken out of context but stood by his wider point that opposition teams, equivalent to in last 12 months’s Ashes, can look to fight fire with fire against England’s ‘Bazballers’.
“It got completely blown out of proportion,” he said. “It was more the undeniable fact that against Australia, the pace we play the sport at, at times we’ve seen opposition teams rating a bit quicker due to that.
“I didn’t know anything about Jaiswal, I didn’t know that was the way in which he was going to exit and play in each innings and that’s the way in which he does well. Fair play, it was great to look at at times.
“He’s a superb player and he’s going to attain numerous Test runs.”
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