Ben Duckett has warned that England’s aggressive approach with the bat won’t change regardless of the conditions they face in India, stating that he’s “certainly not going to die wondering” when he opens the batting.
Ahead of the first Test match of the India v England series starting next week (January 25), Duckett outlined how England will approach India’s bowling attack in home conditions. Speaking to the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Duckett said: “If those pitches are spinning big and I know what my strengths are, I’m certainly not going to die wondering. I think it’s just going to be about finding a method to keep the board ticking over and at times getting down the other end, or picking a bowler you feel like you can score quicker against.
“If we feel like it’s going to be a terrible pitch, sometimes getting 50 off 60 or whatever that may be is going to be a valuable knock for the team and certainly at times we might have to, although they are an incredible seam attack, potentially try and take the seam down before the spin comes on. These are just little things that I’m really looking forward to because I know under Baz and Stokesy we will have full license to go and do whatever we want.
“It might be a pitch that doesn’t feel like it’s spinning or nipping and we might just play normally, it might be a green top early on and we can go and express ourselves. The beauty of playing in this team right now is, almost the harder the conditions are it’s going to be enjoyable because we know we can go and play however we want to play and enjoy it.”
Duckett was part of England’s squad for their Test tour of India in 2016. He was dropped from the side after a run of poor scores in the first two Tests, before being recalled in 2022 against Pakistan. Since then Duckett has averaged 53.21 in Test cricket, including a century in his comeback game in Rawalpindi.
“The more it spins my bat is going to be extremely horizontal,” said Duckett. “But that’s one thing I’m working on. I think to myself now that I’ve got over ten sweep shots on both sides of the wicket. I did it a bit in Pakistan and it’s not that I’m trying to smack every ball for four. I’ve got different gears to go up in all those different sweep shots and it’s something I’ve been thinking about.
“If it’s spinning sideways and they’ve got men all round the bat, I might use my reverse sweep as a forward defence, without trying to give too much away. My theory around when I watch people get out when there’s a short leg, man round the corner, silly point and a slip, you kind of get stuck on the crease. I’m jinxing myself now if I get caught at short leg which is definitely going to happen now, but what I’m going to try and do is get rid of those guys around me, and hopefully then life will be a bit easier. If they stay in then fingers crossed you get a few more boundaries and get a little score.”
India haven’t lost a Test series at home since 2012 when England claimed a famous 2-1 win. In the last ten years, India have only lost three of the 40 Test matches they’ve played on home soil. The first Test of the series kicks off in Hyderabad on January 25, with the series wrapping up in March in Dharamshala.
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