After an embattled Ashes tour and with a crowded schedule looming, England should drop Ben Duckett from their T20 World Cup squad to revive his international career, writes Katya Witney.
Ashes series defeats provide clarity in English cricket like little else can. They’re the proof of the work of the previous two years, with the failures and successes of that cycle stripped bare under the most intense spotlight, both as a collective, and individually. Ben Duckett is a player most would have backed to cope in that environment, averaging 46 from his 2022 recall until the start of the Ashes, a senior figure in England’s set-up and with a level of self-confidence, and the performances to back it up, to deflect criticism that may come his way.
Instead, he wilted. He finished the series with an average of 20.20, having failed to pass 50 once and with questions creeping in over his position that he has kept well at bay over the last three years. His demeanour is perhaps more worrying, having receded to well short of the puffed out chest that’s normally on show, to an increasingly insecure figure, unsure of the role he previously viewed with so much simplicity.
Duckett is a match-winner and his reputation as one of the best all-format batters in the world was well-earned. England built much of their philosophy on having an opening partnership who complemented each other perfectly, able to put sides on the back foot, put bowlers off their lengths and move the game on. Duckett has done that job consistently, most notably against India at Leeds over the summer but also in several of England’s marquee victories in the Stokes era.
But, with that post-series clarity should come a healthy dose of realism. Duckett’s performances in the Ashes fell well short, and they had been tailing off for a while. He had a poor Hundred coming straight off the back of an intense Test series, and had a lacklustre ODI series against South Africa before being dismissed for three consecutive single-figure scores in New Zealand. His last half-century in an official game was against India at The Oval in July. England have already looked to give him time to rest, sitting him out of some of their pre-Ashes white-ball series. Now they should eye an extended break, so that England can still get the best of one of their greatest assets, without the impending presence of a huge series on the horizon. Unfortunately, at the moment, that’s not on the cards.
Duckett is one of just three players in England’s Ashes and T20 World Cup squads who also have an IPL deal – Jofra Archer and Jacob Bethell being the other two. While Archer returned home from the Ashes early, Bethell and Duckett will have less than two weeks at home before heading back out to Sri Lanka. Then there will be a couple of weeks between the T20 World Cup and the IPL before heading straight into a Test series against New Zealand. Then India visit for a white-ball tour before The Hundred – no longer an opportunity to rest for England regulars following its privatisation. Then Pakistan will arrive for a Test tour before another white-ball tour by Sri Lanka.
It’s hard to pick an event in there England would be happy for Duckett to miss, with the IPL also out of the question given the prospect of a ban for players picked up in the auction later dropping out. They will want a full-strength side as they aim to rebuild in Tests, while he is central in ODIs, one of few functioning parts in a team that must improve quickly if it is to challenge at – and qualify for – the 2027 World Cup.
However, he is not as central in T20Is, and it’s not clear whether he is a first-choice pick in England’s XI, given how little of the format he’s played since Brook took over as captain. He played in the West Indies series early last summer, but with Phil Salt absent on paternity leave. Salt’s spectacular performances on his return mean he is now a lock, and it’s likely his partnership with Jos Buttler at the top is also near set in stone. With Bethell preferred at No.3 and Brook at four, it’s hard to see how Duckett gets in. If the plan is for him to carry drinks, far better for Jordan Cox, deserving of an opportunity in any case, to be given some time in the squad, and for Duckett to be allowed to recover.
It would be simplistic to put his failures in the Ashes down to burnout, especially given he had more than a month off ahead of the winter. But it’s a piece of the wider picture. From the first day of England’s Test against Zimbabwe in May to their last ODI against South Africa in September, Duckett was playing some form of professional cricket on 45 of the 109 days in between. When factoring in travel time and training, it’s a hectic schedule. This summer could see him play even more, as the focus shifts towards a huge 2027 with a home Ashes series and a 50-over World Cup, both of which England should want Duckett involved in. With an eye on that future, the opportunity for Duckett to rest and refind what will make him crucial to those campaigns, is now.
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