Ben Duckett has backed up his captain’s request for ‘fast, flat pitches’ for the Ashes - and believes the Aussie quick bowlers will come on ‘nicer’ into the middle of his bat.
Ben Stokes has made the request for quick pitches from the five groundsmen at Edgbaston, Lord’s, Headingley, Old Trafford and The Oval, and Duckett is in full agreement. And he won’t be short of pace with Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Cameron Green all capable of nudging the speed gun over 90mph with the ball.
That was the quartet of quick men who did the most damage Down Under in the last series with Scott Boland also making an impact, and he will be on his first Ashes tour this summer.
It will be Duckett’s first Ashes series too and with the Ireland Test set to be his first International match in England it was handy that he managed to register his first hundred at Lord’s on Thursday for Nottinghamshire against Middlesex.
Duckett coped admirably with the lower speeds of Ethan Bamber and Toby Roland-Jones to hit 119 not out by the time bad light stopped play, with the odd scoop and advance down the wicket as part of the repertoire - something he might not employ against the likes of Cummins though.
Duckett said: “It's always a special ground playing here and gaining that experience with what is to come later in the summer is great, obviously at about 20mph slower than what it will be in the Ashes. If I get the nod, I can think back to this and having a hundred here is nice confidence, but I don't think I'll be walking at bowlers as much or paddle sweeping Pat Cummins.
“That pace is going to come on a bit nicer; if it's flat, it's going to come on and sometimes pace is nice here in England. It can be more tricky facing someone more like Bamber, who's around the knee-roll at 75mph.
"Sometimes I find that harder. I know Australia are one of the best attacks, potentially ever, so it's going to be tough but an enjoyable challenge.”
Things could have been different for the left handed opener who was missed on nought off the bowling of Bamber when he edged between the keeper and first slip at a catchable height.
But he showed the full range of his ability with plenty of attacking strokes as well as a more patient approach when wickets were falling at the other end to score his first hundred of 2023 following a maiden Test ton in Pakistan in December.
“All I can do is try and feel good and try to get into some form,” he added. “I'm really happy with this innings because obviously I had an enjoyable winter, but over the past six months I’d scored five or six fifties but only converted one into a hundred.
“To get over the line early on in the season is nice and the fact it was here at Lord’s was even more special and I was sure to take it all in. Hopefully there will be a few more in the crowd later in the summer.”
