Stokes Has Been In Beast Mode; Most Important Man On This Side: Ben Duckett

Ben Duckett: England opener Ben Duckett dubbed Ben Stokes the ‘most important’ man of their team and said that the all-rounder has been undergoing immense training, something he has never seen the English Test skipper do before.

Stokes will lead England in the five-game Ashes series, which begins at the Optus Stadium in Perth on November 21, and Duckett has wished for the all-rounder to remain fit throughout the five games, calling him ‘crucial’ for the team.

“I can only say we've been out here for a few days and he's been in beast mode. 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 on 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,” Duckett told the Willow Talk podcast.

Duckett thinks England will enter the Ashes without much ‘baggage’ and mentioned that the team's aggressive style in Test cricket is developing beyond what some have seen as reckless. The opening batter is among the 11 players in England's squad who haven't played Test cricket in Australia, with an average age of 28 compared to the home team's 33. In Perth, the players were met with humorous headlines from the local newspaper, but Duckett noted they received a warm welcome.

“This group we've got, I actually saw the other day, I'm the fourth oldest, which was tough to see. So we've got quite a fresh group coming here where there's not a lot of baggage, which I think will help us. I'm looking forward to the challenge. 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,” he added.

Pat Cummins will be absent for the Ashes opener due to his ongoing recovery from a lumbar stress injury. However, there is still hope that he will be fit for the second Test at the Gabba, having gone through an intense training session at the SCG on Tuesday.

“You want to play against the best and you don't want to have guys like that missing out in series like this. 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,” he noted.

A central talking point before the series has been how Bazball will adapt to Australian conditions, but Duckett noted that both he and the team are developing a more refined and flexible version of their approach.

Duckett explained that the team’s approach under Brendon McCullum has evolved to focus more on reading the game’s key moments rather than playing with blind aggression. He said McCullum encourages him to recognise when the situation calls for restraint — for example, surviving a tricky spell late in the day rather than going for quick runs — highlighting that maturity and awareness are now as important as intent.

"I think now it's definitely about reading moments. (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. 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,” he stated.

Duckett explained that the team’s approach under Brendon McCullum has evolved to focus more on reading the game’s key moments rather than playing with blind aggression. He said McCullum encourages him to recognise when the situation calls for restraint — for example, surviving a tricky spell late in the day rather than going for quick runs — highlighting that maturity and awareness are now as important as intent.

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“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,” he concluded.

Article Source: IANS