This England team has each other’s backs, so when Ben Duckett sat in front of the tape recorder on his third night at Rajkot – a day shy of his deserved century – it was inevitable that he would step up for Joe Root defends.
Unfortunately for Duckett, Root is one of the main issues for the British side. His attempted back-tackle from Jasprit Bumrah in the morning continued an unusual run of low scores that triggered England’s 95-8 defeat in just over two hours. Team India gained the upper hand.
Root’s highest score on tour so far was No. 29 on the first day of the series in Hyderabad, which was astonishing for a player of his stature. Duckett recalled the back-hoe six he lifted off Pat Cummins on the first day of last summer’s Ashes series and he was keen to take on board any criticism.
“I would love to know if those people objected when he did this to Cummins,” Duckett said. “Rooty is a freak: He can do things that a lot of us can’t do. To me, it’s the same as hitting one and cutting the second slider. Rooty’s bowling is really good. That’s the same as It’s the same reason I hit reverse sweep and got caught.
“The selections are practiced and he’s been very successful shooting the ball over the past year, so maybe mistakes will happen next time.”
Although Duckett added 20 more runs after scoring 133 overnight, the opener was quieter than the second day. His diagnosis of the slowdown in the second half of his best innings so far was that India’s seamers had a tighter line and more protection on the boundaries to the spinners.
“That was one of those days where I felt like we have to give credit to India,” Duckett said. “I did think they had a really good day, yesterday they didn’t, but today they bounced back and performed well.”
What was supposed to be a day of rest for the bowlers as England fell from 207 to 319 below par, turned out to be a smooth ride but also full of bumps for Duckett. He’s a player who’s fully invested in the optimistic rhetoric that runs throughout his current team, and who’s more than willing to share some of the more surprising elements publicly.
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India ended at 196 for two, 322 runs ahead, he added: “[Ben] Before we went to the field, Stokes said to us that he actually wanted us to go out today, give them a bowl, and enjoy ourselves. It’s a little earlier than we planned, but we want to get out there and reach out to them. No matter what the situation is, we try to get back at them. “
When asked about his realistic goals for the fourth inning, he responded: “The more, the merrier. This team is committed to doing special things and making history. They can take as many as they want and we’ll take them.”
