England's Ben Duckett says he has no regrets about England's decision to face Australia's short-ball challenge at Lord's, despite falling victim to a bouncer just two runs short of his first Ashes century. On the second day of the second Test, England significantly improved their position by taking the final five wickets for 77 runs, dismissing Australia for 416, and responding with a score of 278 for four.
Although England had Australia cornered at 188 for one, they witnessed Ollie Pope, Duckett, and Joe Root losing their wickets during a relentless barrage of short deliveries. Adopting a more cautious approach might have helped them navigate through the intense passage of play more securely, but it would have been uncharacteristic for a team that has spent the past year embracing risks and adopting an aggressive style.
Duckett, a staunch believer in the 'Bazball' philosophy, felt content after being caught at fine-leg while pulling a shot against Josh Hazlewood.
"It's a shot I play and one that I've scored plenty of runs with in my career. I would have been disappointed with myself if I had shied away from it and retreated into my shell, only to glove one behind," he said.
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"If the shot had been ten meters to either side, I would have reached a century. Falling just short of three figures here at Lord's was obviously disheartening, but I'm satisfied with my performance. I believe it was certainly my best innings in an England shirt."
"That's the way we play our cricket. If the opposition has plans like that, and we choose to play defensively, it would completely contradict our approach. We lost a couple of wickets, but we're still in a strong position."
"I was batting with Popey and Rooty, but there wasn't much conversation. It was simply a matter of asking, 'How do you want to handle this?'. That's the kind of enjoyable environment we're creating. If you feel like stepping back and hitting it over cover for six or doing whatever you need to do, then just commit to it."
"Popey just said, 'I'm going to get inside it and smack it into the stands'. No one in that dressing room will be disappointed with how Popey got out; everyone will just be a bit disappointed it didn't go for six."
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