Ben Stokes promises full support for Ben Duckett as he is being investigated for his conduct while on tour in Australia.
Ben Stokes promises ‘complete support’ to embattled Duckett.
Despite failing to reach 30 in six innings in the Ashes series thus far and an ECB investigation into his behaviour, Ben Duckett has received “complete support” from his skipper Ben Stokes and will be kept in England’s starting lineup for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
Hours after Rob Key, England’s managing director, promised to look into accusations of heavy drinking during the team’s trip to Noosa following the second Test, a video appeared on social media that seemed to show Duckett intoxicated, unclear of how to get to his accommodation, and calling a fan a “p***k”. On Monday evening, the ECB declared that it will “establish the facts” and that it was “aware” of the video.
For the fourth Test, England has replaced Ollie Pope and the injured Jofra Archer with Jacob Bethell and Gus Atkinson, but Duckett has been kept. England does not have a backup opener in their squad, despite his poor performance in Australia (averaging 16.16) and lack of a half-century in his last 12 international innings across formats.
Prior to the video going viral on Tuesday, Key had stated that frequent drinking during a foreign tour was “completely unacceptable.” However, Stokes backed Duckett, calling him a “important player” and a “incredibly influential person” in the England locker room.
“It’s all pretty fresh and pretty new,” Stokes said. “I’ve obviously reached out and spoken to him and offered my complete support with him throughout this. He’s such an important player for this team, and we’ve still got two games of cricket to play. He’s an incredibly influential person within this group.”
“I have first-hand experience of how this can affect people,” he said. “I will always support my players, particularly in a moment like this where everything feels like it’s on top of you – and for some players more than others as well. My job as England captain is obviously to be out there and get results for the team, but also to try to give people the best chance of being in a mental space where they can go out there and perform.
“Supporting them and letting them know that I will be there for them through thick and thin is very, very important, and Ben Duckett knows that… I know what it’s like. It’s not a nice place to be in, but he knows that he’s got the support of myself and the other guys around him as well.”
He refused to answer when asked if Duckett had done anything wrong. “I’m here to support him. I’ll always support my players and I made that pretty clear.”