By his personal admission, Duckett, now 28, “probably wasn’t ready for international cricket” again in 2016-17, when he made his Test and ODI debuts on England’s excursions of Bangladesh and India. Seven years later, then again, he is so at ease in regards to the revel in, he was once even in a position to get ready for closing week’s go back to the white-ball set-up via spending a few days “on a sun lounger” in Dubai.
That transient stint of R&R got here because the Test squad disbanded after their exciting one-run loss to New Zealand in Wellington, which was once additionally Duckett’s first defeat in 5 appearances since his recall for the Pakistan excursion in December. In that point he has averaged an excellent 56.44 on the most sensible of the order, and was once captivated with wearing that very same mindset into this week’s first T20I towards Bangladesh in Chattogram.
“It’s ridiculously different,” Duckett stated of his revel in within the Test set-up. “The way that they make everyone feel is something that I never thought would be the case in Test cricket. It’s almost like you’re playing a friendly, you’re actually going out and playing a Test match and it’s that relaxed, and that’s how you’re going to get players to perform at their best.
“The very first thing Baz stated to me in Pakistan was once: ‘Just revel in it, you are going to get a excellent run’. To listen that as a gap batsman earlier than your first Test again makes you no longer worried and you’ll be able to move in the market and play your means somewhat than in search of a ranking.
“And I think the big thing in that dressing-room is – whatever the noise is outside that dressing room, no one cares. It’s everything in that dressing room and almost you’ve got that backing, it feels like there’s a squad of players now that seems like they’re going to keep for a little while, especially while things are going well. Previously, you’re fearing for every single game, if you get no runs, you might get dropped the next game.”
“The one thing I’ve been lucky with is, because of how I play, it doesn’t really change throughout the formats. You see these guys who are whacking the ball out of the ground and then they’ve got to go and play Test cricket and it’s a massive difference, where my mentality in all three formats is to see ball, hit ball. And now against spin, sweeping it both ways in all formats – and I’ve got the full backing from all of the squads.
“I’ve matured as a cricketer,” he added. “It’s realising what works for me, working out what my strengths are. Seven years in the past I may have attempted to hit Shakib [Al Hasan] for 6 over lengthy-on, now I know all I have to do is hit the ball in entrance of sq. leg and it is 4 runs. The small style I had again then, I was once very younger and most probably wasn’t in a position. I suppose that includes age and maximum batters are at their best possible after they get to the age of 28, 29.”
Duckett is one of only four England players to have featured in all three formats this winter, and it’s been quite the round-the-world trip – encompassing campaigns in Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand and now Bangladesh – which is all the more reason why he had no qualms about dropping everything for a week and lying low with his girlfriend in the UAE between red- and white-ball campaigns, rather than fretting about the challenge of switching formats.
His long wait for a second chance with England was also a key factor in his decision to opt out of the big-money opportunities on the franchise circuit this winter – including the on-going Pakistan Super League, which caused a number of England’s players, including Alex Hales, to withdraw their availability for the Bangladesh series.
“I spoke to any person a month in the past about other folks resting and pulling out of stuff,” he said. “For me, the focal point is at the chance to play all 3 codecs for England. And that is going to be my focal point for so long as I’m within the squad.
“Don’t get me wrong, if I’ve got a month next winter and I get offered a lot of money, I’m probably going to go and play in it, as most of us would. But you can play all these leagues around the world in a few years’ time, right now I’m solely focused on playing as much for England as I can. That break I had was potentially a good thing for me, and it’s made me so hungry now to take every single chance I get.”