New Delhi [India], March 24 (ANI): All-format opener Ben Duckett assured that England do care about winning games and were “hurting” after their Champions Trophy campaign ended on a shambolic note.
England were dumped out of the Champions Trophy in the group stage after surrendering to defeats against Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
During the build-up to the marquee event, England toured India in a defeat-laden white-ball series. Duckett’s comments during the white-ball tour sparked criticism.
He made a bold statement and said he “did not care” if England got swept 3-0 in the ODI series against India as long as they stood triumphant with the Champions Trophy in their hands weeks later.
Duckett brushed away the notion and said, as quoted from Sky Sports, “It’s certainly not the case that we don’t want to win games. After every game in the Champions Trophy, if there was a camera, you would see a group of lads hurting, wanting to win and believing they could win every single game.”
“When I pull on an England shirt, whatever the format, the only thing on my mind is to go out and win it – win it for the country. The Champions Trophy was disappointing and we were all hurting a lot. There were moments where we played well, and we could easily have won the first two games, and suddenly, it is a different story. We came from a tough tour of India, and I think when you are not used to getting over the line in tight games, that can have an effect on you,” he added.
England is going through a transition phase in the white-ball format. After the arrival of Brendon McCullum as white-ball head coach, Jos Buttler stepped down from the captaincy following the conclusion of England’s run in the Champions Trophy.
Harry Brook and Test captain Ben Stokes have been tipped as potential candidates for the role. However, Duckett is also interested in taking over the role if management asks him to do so.
“To captain England would obviously be a dream. I don’t think it’s on the radar but I don’t know that, which is why I am answering like that. We will see what happens moving forward and what decisions are made. I am just pretty happy playing for England at the minute,” he said.
“Three or four years ago I wouldn’t have thought I’d be doing that, so just living my dream as a kid, representing my country – I am very happy playing all three formats,” he added. (ANI)
