“Young England Free of Baggage”: Ben Duckett On Ashes Prep

Ben Duckett stated that England’s young squad would benefit from having no previous ‘baggage’ in Australia.

England opener Ben Duckett believes his team’s young squad will start the Ashes series without the “baggage” of past tours. He also explained that England’s aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach is evolving beyond recklessness into a more nuanced style.

Duckett is one of 11 players in the squad new to Test cricket in Australia. The team’s average age is 28, significantly younger than Australia’s 33. Despite provocative local headlines, Duckett said the team has felt welcome in Perth.

“This group we’ve got, I actually saw the other day I’m the fourth oldest, which was tough to see,” Duckett told the Willow Talk podcast. “So we’ve got quite a fresh group coming here where there’s not a lot of baggage, which I think will help us.”

Since his Test recall, Duckett is the leading run-scorer among openers. He scored 321 runs in the 2023 Ashes. “I’m looking forward to the challenge,” he said. “You know how tough it is for touring sides coming over here. I’m not expecting or setting myself any targets. I know I’m opening the batting against probably the best bowling attack in the world in their home conditions.”

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Cummins On Fitness Watch

For the first Test, Australia’s attack will be missing Pat Cummins as he recovers from a lumbar stress injury. “You want to play against the best and you don’t want to have guys like that missing out in series like this,” Duckett said. “But on the flip side, I’m an opening batter and he’s probably one of the best bowlers in the world. So yeah, quietly, I hope it’s not too bad but obviously any game where he’s not playing is an advantage for us.”

Duckett also clarified England’s tactical evolution. He said the focus is now on reading match situations intelligently. “I think now it’s definitely about reading moments,” he said. “[Brendon McCullum] will come up to me and say, now you’re a better player than just getting 40 off 30 and getting us off to a good start.

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“There’s moments as an opening batsman, for example, it could be at Perth in a few weeks where we’ve got five overs to see at the end of the day. And I did it against India last summer where actually just get through it. I don’t care how many runs you’ve got, just be there in the morning.

“I think that’s where we’re trying to go as a team now, it’s not just being this entertaining, reckless at times, side. And it’s something that I’ve got frustrated with myself in the past, where I might have got 80 off 60 and it looks great and stuff, but they’re going to put my side in a good position. So it’s realising moments and doing that and then kicking on and getting a big score. And I think that’s where we’re really wanting to go as a side now.”

Duckett also praised captain Ben Stokes, calling him the team’s most important player. “I can only say we’ve been out here for a few days and he’s been in beast mode,” he said. “He has been running, bowling two spells, batting for two hours. The way he trains and stuff these days is something that 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 he’s bowling in all of them because he’s crucial for us.”