Basil Williams, the former West Indies opening batsman, has died at the age of 65. Williams played seven Tests during 1978 and 1979 when the West Indies line-up was weakened by the defection of many leading players to World Series Cricket and he proved an effective replacement, scoring 469 runs at 39.08.He also became the tenth West Indian to score a century on Test debut, when he struck 100 off 118 balls in the second innings against Australia in Georgetown in 1978. He performed well in that series and was picked for the tour of India later that year, where he scored 111 in Kolkata, but after the return of the WSC players he was dropped.The report of Williams’ debut hundred noted that he “kept on playing his shots in spite of several narrow escapes, particularly against [Jeff] Thomson”, and that having scored his century he hooked the next ball and was caught at fine leg.”We mourn the loss of another servant of the game in the Caribbean,” WICB president Dave Cameron said. “Indeed, the Jamaica Cricket Association and the Kensington Cricket Club family of which he was a part for all of his life will miss him.”I knew ‘Shotgun’, as he was affectionately known, having been a member of Kensington for so many years. He was captain of the first team and I had the honour of playing with him. He was a tough, but fair captain and a no-nonsense guy.”Williams made his debut for Jamaica in February 1970 and ended his first-class career in 1985. He struck five centuries in his 46-game first-class career and averaged 36.02.
Tottenham winger Gareth Bale has attracted widespread interest from some of the top clubs in Europe over the course of the past 18 months, with Barcelona and Real Madrid prime among them, but just how realistic is a move to one of Spain’s big two?
The main stumbling block to any deal to one of La Liga’s hegemonic duo is the price above all else. When you look at his value to Andre Villas-Boas and how integral he is to the squad, the price of around £40m often mentioned seems around the right mark. The club have no pressing need to sell and having just sold Luka Modric to Real Madrid for north of £30m, nor will they want to start repeating the trap that Arsenal have fallen into the last few years of selling your best player each summer – a vicious cycle if ever there was one.
It’s clear that the money floating around the Camp Nou isn’t quite as rich as it once was, and if Tito Vilanova were to sanction a move for Bale around the €40m (£32m) mark, still significantly less than what Tottenham would deem an acceptable price for their man, then they would be blowing the vast majority of their transfer budget on one player, something that they will be loathe to do.
You also have to ask yourself, where exactly would he fit in to this current Barcelona side? The club’s acquisition of Spain left-back Jordi Alba from Valencia in the summer for the modest amount of €14m (£11m) on the face of it would appear to end any need for the club to pursue Bale in the future and he may have missed his chance.
Alba came through the ranks at La Masia before leaving the club after failing to break through into the first-team, finding his success elsewhere first like both Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique before him; a continuation of a fairly expensive transfer policy of bringing former players back to the club.
However, his success this term can be directly attributed to how familiar he is with the style and methods of the club so ingrained into their younger players and at just 23 years of age, he’s a long-term purchase. This means that the previously assumed role at left-back as Eric Abidal’s successor is no longer available, so would he fit in further up field?
Bale has shown that he can be effective drifting in off the flank at times, but far too often this has a more detrimental impact on the balance and overall threat of the rest of the side. He has displayed the ability to play quick one-touch football through the middle, with his goal away at Manchester City last term a testament to that, but it’s clearly not his natural game.
No, the Welshman is at his best when running onto a ball at pace or driving into the space in front of him. The possession-based game that Barcelona play means that the only position he’d be able to do that from is as an attacking full-back, and unless he actually bothers to develop a right foot any time soon that he can use consistently enough, I simply don’t see that happening, even if question marks remain over Daniel Alves’ future at the club beyond the end of this season.
Alexis Sanchez has at times struggled with the little space he receives closed in around the box and his natural game has been restricted somewhat and you could see Bale suffering in the same way in a more advanced role. He doesn’t possess the skill to beat a player at close quarters that a Cristiano Ronaldo or Luis Suarez does. Moreover, the likes of Christian Tello, Isaac Cuenca, Pedro and the exciting and emerging talent of Gerard Deulofeu would mark Bale’s purchase as a needless indulgence in an area where they are well stocked, with buying a recognised centre-half, rather than a versatile holding man capable of filling in seemingly a much more immediate and higher priority.
Speaking of Cristiano Ronaldo, he is the player which Bale is often compared to and he has developed that arrogant swagger in recent times. The 23-year-old has shown a worrying lack of work-rate in tracking back to help out his defender this season, almost as if he views it as beneath him and it’s no coincidence that both Manchester City and Arsenal absolutely tore Tottenham’s left flank apart in recent games. Off the ball, he is not only positionally naive and tactically unaware, it has got to the point where that area of the pitch is being targeted and it’s costing them in important games; for an arch pragmatist such as Jose Mourinho, you suspect that might be something of a problem looking further ahead.
As part of Luka Modric’s £33m move to join Real Madrid this summer, the two clubs signed a ‘commercial partnership’ deal, with Tottenham set to reap the benefits from this transfer long after the Croat has retired from the game, but part of that arrangement had many suspicious about what Tottenham may have given away to secure that lucrative relationship, with a first option on Bale the rumoured benefit for the Spanish giants.
When you look at the Real Madrid squad, they play a much more expansive, counter-attacking style of play than Barcelona, which would seem to suit Bale down to the ground a lot more and you could imagine him in a more advanced role on the left wing at the Bernabeu, particularly with Angel Di Maria continuing to frustrate and excite with almost crushing regularity, and his inconsistency could see Mourinho look elsewhere.
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They seem pretty well set at left-back, with the excellent Marcelo and disappointing Fabio Coentrao left to battle it out for a starting spot, but despite the Portuguese international’s struggles since moving from Benfica, the club parted with €30m (£24m) just last summer, so for Mourinho to give up on him now before he has truly shown his best form would represent something of an embarrassing climb down and confession of a flawed transfer; a move which he is unlikely to sanction at the risk of handing the critical Spanish press more ammunition.
There’s no denying that Bale would not sit comfortably in both of these sides, for he has occasionally shown the form and standard required, even if he looks incapable of doing it for prolonged spells at the moment. Aside from him not being quite ready to make the step up in my eyes, I just can’t see either club wanting to part with a fee of around £40m for someone neither of them realistically need to still compete at the highest level. You have to ask yourself, would he improve either side that much to warrant such an outlay?
The artificial inflation of British players means he could be priced out of any future move and while he may desire to move elsewhere further down the line in the pursuit of silverware, a move to either Manchester club would make much more sense. At the moment he is worth £40m to Tottenham but someway short of that for the Spanish pair, and bridging that divide remains the biggest stumbling block of all.
Ashish Nehra, former India and Delhi left-arm seamer, has been ruled out for the next two months of the Indian domestic season after being advised to rest his ankle, which was operated upon recently. He missed Delhi’s first two matches of the Ranji Trophy Super League and is likely to return only by the end of January.”I had gotten my ankle operated during the domestic off-season and have been advised by the doctors to rest it for the next two months till I am fully fit,” Nehra was quoted in the . “I am sure to play the Duleep and Deodhar Trophies and one-dayers, and the Ranji Trophy knockout matches as well, if Delhi qualify.”Nehra will travel with the team for their fourth- and fifth-round matches against Himachal Pradesh (in Dharamsala) and Maharashtra (in Pune) respectively, and train with the team physio. John Gloster, the Indian team physio, will also work with Nehra during the first Test between India and Pakistan at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi.Nehra, among the most injury-prone Indian players in recent times, said he was intent on taking things cautiously to avoid breaking down again.”I do not want to make the mistake again of playing until I am fully fit,” Nehra said. “Not only will that hamper my performance but also aggravate my injury. So I am going to take it light this season and come back the moment I know I am ready.”Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya admitted that Nehra’s absence would be felt, yet backed his decision to play it safe. “From a team’s point of view even an 80% Nehra is essential for the team, but from an individual perspective I think this is a good decision that Ashish has taken,” Dahiya said. “He aggravated his injury last season and this season he has chosen wisely to rest it and recover fully.”Nehra last played for India during the tour of Zimbabwe in 2005. Last season, he took 15 wickets in the Ranji Trophy at 41 runs apiece, and 13 wickets in nine one-day games.
The last time Ricky Ponting faced the media at the end of an Ashes series, the first question he received came from a hard-talking TV news reporter who demanded his on-the-spot resignation for the “humiliation” of losing the closest and greatest Ashes contest in history. This afternoon, it was Andrew Flintoff who was coming to terms with the true definition of the word, after his England side had been served up on a platter by their ruthlessly focussed opposition.”Australia have raised the bar in this series,” admitted Flintoff, whose crest has fallen so far already that he seemed immune to further disappointment. “In patches we’ve competed with them, but whenever we’ve put a foot in the door it’s been closed on us. From our point of view, it’s not for a lack of trying or character. We’ve just been beaten by a better team.”The latter part of that statement certainly could not be quibbled with. Australia have been magnificent all series long. Every single one of their seven batsmen made centuries; each and every member of the bowling attack topped 20 wickets for the series. “I couldn’t be any more satisfied than I am at the moment,” said a beaming Ponting at his press call. He was a man at peace with the world after the indignities he suffered in 2005.As for the rest of Flintoff’s statement, however – something was undoubtedly amiss. “I couldn’t have asked for anything more from the lads,” he insisted for the fifth match out of five. “Their efforts throughout the series – they’ve kept coming back, kept working, and kept their intensity. They’ve tried to improve and perform, and you just can’t fault that.”Well, frankly, you can. England on this final day were a shower. They lost their two overnight batsmen without an extra run on the board, and they would have lost even more humiliatingly had it not been for the improbable intervention of Steve Harmison, who top-scored for the day with 16 not out and then launched into a futile assault with the new ball that had Justin Langer admitting afterwards that it was the best he had faced all series. What a strange moment to come to the party.England have been rudderless and directionless on this tour, and sadly the lack of drive has to derive from the attitude of the captain. In fairness to Flintoff, he is still finding his feet in the role. Each of his immediate predecessors, Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan, endured torrid times before they defined their style – and only last week, Duncan Fletcher cited Vaughan’s first Test in charge, at Lord’s against South Africa in 2003, as the worst defeat of his career.But it is not unfair to criticise Flintoff’s unthinking support for his men. “It’s not through a lack of practice or wanting to do well,” he reiterated. “We wanted to string together performances for full five days at a time. We wanted to stay with them and nick a result at the end, but unfortunately that’s not been the case.”If that approach sounds familiar, that is because it is exactly the approach that Flintoff first encountered under Hussain – an emotional, attritional leader who was also the captain of a young side in times of adversity. His single rule of thumb, however, was the polar opposite to Flintoff’s nice-guy approach to the leadership. He would stand at mid-on throughout England’s tours of the subcontinent, cajoling and haranguing, and demanding extra effort even when there was nothing extra to give.
And yet, Hussain also failed his acid test. He succumbed 4-1 on the last Ashes tour and 8-2 in his two series against Australia, which just goes to show that there’s only so much that any team can do when faced with a great opposition with their sights fully set on revenge. “I’ve never mentioned that word once,” insisted Ponting, although he did concede that the victory in this series was all the sweeter for the defeat that had preceded it.”The last time we won the Ashes in Australia was the shortest period of time ever,” he said. “We played a bit harder this time. The cricket we’ve played has been as good as I can ever remember. Lots of so-called experts said England would win when they arrived here, but look at the results. It’s a great feeling right at the moment, and we can’t take that feeling for granted either.”For Flintoff and England, it is time to look to the future. Come 2009, revenge will be the buzzword once again, only this time it’ll be emanating from the England dressing-room. “It can’t be a pointless exercise to be beaten 5-0,” said Flintoff. “We’re a young side, and as long as we’ve learned something from this, we can improve going forward.”Some of the lads have already shown that they can compete with the best team in the world. But after the jubiliation and joy of 2005, we have experienced the other side. But, hearing the Aussies speak about The Oval and using it as a spur, I’m sure that’s something the lads will remember for next time. Conceivably, everyone in that room could be playing in 2009.”
Details of the Afro-Asia A-team tournament hosted by Bangladesh in January have finally been announced.The five-team event – which features sides from India, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Kenya – is based in Chittagong and starts on January 18. All the sides will play each other once, with the top two meeting in the final at the M A Aziz Stadium on January 28.There is some concern over whether Zimbabwe, who have named their side, will actually participate as most of their squad have said they will refuse to play under the current board. It is likely that they will hold a meeting shortly before they are due to depart to make a final decision.There is also some unease with the criteria for what constitutes an A side, with the Zimbabwe team containing six of their most recent Test side and only three of their squad have not played Tests or ODIs.Rather oddly, it appears that the organisers were hoping for an African Representative XI, based around Kenya and Uganda, to take the fifth slot but it seems that the Kenyans refused, arguing that as they had recently whitewashed Zimbabwe A in Zimbabwe, they deserved a place on their own merits.
A formal Twenty20 competition between the states will be held next January in a rapid response to the bite-sized game’s success. Cricket Australia today announced a six-match interstate tournament with each state hosting one clash between the end of next summer’s Test program and the VB Series.CA is also finalising its international fixture list for next year and the MCG has been stripped of its VB Series final, Hobart has been given a West Indies Test and Perth has a South Africa Test.James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said Twenty20 had made a good first impression in trial games at Perth, Adelaide and Hobart, particularly with young people, families and females. “The Australian public has told us they love Twenty20 and we want to offer fans in each state a chance to see it,” he said. “We also believe it is possible that players, once they get some experience with this new format, might learn skills that transfer to the ODI arena in the same way that skills learned in 50-over cricket have transferred to longer forms of the game.”The ICC is still determining whether Twenty20 will become an international fixture, and CA warned of the crowded calendar and its heavy commitments to the Future Tours Program. CA said an interstate final will be held, but the finer details of the competition were still being finalised.A revamped VB finals series is planned for next year with Adelaide and Sydney given the first two finals and Brisbane the third. Melbourne has been overlooked as it is the venue for the three ICC Super Series one-day internationals between Australia and an ICC World Xl in October.
That Bangladesh will be drubbed 0-2 by Australia is an almost foregone conclusion – barring serious intervention from the weather gods, any other result seems improbable. Bangladesh will need more modest yardsticks to measure their progress. Extending the Tests to the fourth day would be a start. In their 19 previous matches, they have only managed that 11 times, and the weather had a huge hand to play on a couple of those occasions. Among the teams who have inflicted three-day defeats on Bangladesh are Pakistan (three times), Sri Lanka (twice), West Indies (twice) and South Africa (once). Significantly, Bangladesh haven’t yet lost a Test inside two days.David Hookes’s suggestion of a one-day Test is far-fetched, but Australia will surely fancy their chances of bowling Bangladesh out twice in a day. Already, Bangladesh’s two innings have lasted less than a combined total of 90 overs on two occasions. Against Pakistan at Multan in 2001, Bangladesh were bowled out in 41.1 overs in each innings, while West Indies bowled them out twice in 86 overs in Dhaka in 2002-03. On an average, Bangladesh have survived 132 overs per Test – that’s almost four-and-a-half sessions – while a Test featuring Bangladesh has lasted 263 overs, nearly three complete days.Worryingly for Bangladesh, though, their form has slumped considerably of late. In their last 11 Tests, Bangladesh average just 160 in their first innings and 173 in their second, compared to their overall averages of 182 (first innings) and 184 (second innings).Bangladesh have also notched up the dubious distinction of the maximum number of consecutive Test defeats. It currently stands at 13, and is likely to go up by two by the end of this series. It’s easily the longest losing streak; Zimbabwe are next in line with nine. New Zealand may have needed 45 matches to record their first win, but their worst run only consisted of six consecutive losses. After 19 Tests, they had lost just six, while India had 11 defeats and eight draws at the same stage of their Test career.Most consecutive losses in Test history Bangladesh – 13 (Nov 2001 to May 2003) Zimbabwe (1), New Zealand (2), Pakistan (2), Sri Lanka (2), South Africa (4) and West Indies (2) Zimbabwe – 9 (Nov 2001 to June 2003) lost to England (2), Pakistan (2), India (2) and Sri Lanka (3) England – 8 (Nov 1920 to July 1921) lost to Australia South Africa – 8 (March 1889 to April 1899) – lost to England Australia – 7 (March 1885 to February 1888) – lost to England India – 7 (July 1967 to January 1968) – lost to England (3) and Australia (4) West Indies – 7 (November 2000 to January 2001) – lost to England (2) and Australia (5) New Zealand – 6 (January 1954 to November 1955) – lost to South Africa (2), England (2) and Pakistan (2) Pakistan – 5 (November 1999 to March 2000) – lost to Australia (3) and Sri Lanka (2) Sri Lanka – 5 (January 1994 to August 1994) – lost to India (3) and Pakistan (2) Another dubious distinction for Bangladesh: Only seven times has a team won all Tests in a series by an innings, and Bangladesh have been at the receiving end four times. Five out of those seven occurences have happened since 2000, the latest one being Zimbabwe’s capitulation in the two-Test series in England.The seven instances of a team winning every Test of a series by an innings:
Series
Winner
Margin
1
England v West Indies (1928)
England
Innings and 58, 30 and 71 runs
2
India v Sri Lanka (1993-94)
India
Innings and 119, 95 and 17 runs
3
New Zealand v Bangladesh (2001-02)
New Zealand
Innings and 52 and 74 runs
4
Bangladesh v Pakistan (2001-02)
Pakistan
Innings and 178 and 169 runs
5
South Africa v Bangladesh (2002-03)
South Africa
Innings and 107 and 160 runs
6
Bangladesh v South Africa (2002-03)
South Africa
Innings and 60 and 18 runs
7
England v Zimbabwe (2003)
England
Innings and 92 and 69 runs
Through all the stats about Bangladesh’s dismal display, here’s a crumb of comfort: Bangladesh, relatively speaking, haven’t succumbed to the pressures of playing overseas. Their second-innings average abroad is 188 – marginally better than the corresponding figure of 180 at home – while their first-innings average is only slightly worse (178 compared to 186).
West Indian fast bowler Reon King is to leave Sri Lanka and return to the West Indies for surgery, having decided he was not sufficiently confident to play on.King, 26, who has played 14 Tests, was one of the key members of West Indiesinexperienced fast bowling attack. He withdrew from the first Test after beingdiagnosed as having a hernia.Doctors in Sri Lanka were of the opinion that he could play on, but the player himself and the management were concerned about his ability to last a whole Test match in such testing conditions.West Indies manager, Ricky Skerritt, speaking to the media after the team’sfinal practice before the second Test in Kandy, said: “Reon is uncomfortablewith the situation and doesn’t feel he can participate 100 per cent. If thisis the case we have to make arrangements for him to leave the tour.””There was no question that he needed surgery, it was just a matter of howurgently he needed it. The doctor felt he could manage it for a while, butit has deteriorated, at least in Reon’s mind.”The selectors are expected to announce his replacement shortly.
A fast bowler making an impression on his first-class comeback from a five-year spot-fixing ban; an allrounder who is unable to bowl due to a suspect action; a player recalled after a five-year gap in his Test career; a 41-year-old captain who may be about to play his final Test series; an offspinner who has had his action reported after taking a five-for in his second ODI.That’s just the last few weeks of Pakistan cricket. They are rarely without some drama or controversy. Yet amid everything, their Test side has become a relative beacon of calmness and solidity. They start the series against England as strong favourites.The two teams are neck-and-neck in the Test rankings – just a point separates them in third and fourth – but Pakistan have their home-from-home advantage, the far superior spin attack and a batting line-up that knows how to gorge themselves on the surfaces in this region even though they have been weakened a little for the first Test by Azhar Ali’s foot problem.It is a mighty six months for England, still buoyed by an Ashes victory and a high-octane summer which helped move the game on from a horrid year-and-a-half. The challenge of South Africa, the No. 1 Test side, is on the horizon but it was more than just a sportsman maintaining a focus on the here-and-now when Ben Stokes said “UAE will be the most challenging one”.Stokes’ assessment wasn’t intended as a slight on South Africa. However, those will not be conditions in which England historically struggle. It is likely to be a style of cricket more akin to that which was witnessed during the Ashes; in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, however, an England cricket team is out of its comfort zone. The possibilities for self-improvement are vast, the obstacles similarly so.Factor in, too, that only once in the last decade – against Bangladesh in 2009-10 – have England won the opening Test of an away series. With Pakistan’s formidable record in Abu Dhabi, where they have not lost a Test, a draw would be a result to accept.Neither have Pakistan lost a Test series in the UAE since it became their surrogate home in 2010. There have been wins against Sri Lanka, England and Australia and they drew 1-1 with South Africa.Arguably, last year’s series against New Zealand was the one that got away. They were 1-0 up after a resounding 248-run win in Abu Dhabi but New Zealand, on the back of a free-wheeling double hundred from Brendon McCullum, levelled in Sharjah. Perhaps not for the first time this year, New Zealand will provide an template to follow even if replicating McCullum’s 202 off 188 balls is surely a step too far for either of England’s openers.Trevor Bayliss and Ben Stokes take a break during training•Getty Images
The New Zealand series is the only one of Pakistan’s last four that they have not won, away victories in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka continuing the upward trend. The series in Sri Lanka had a remarkable conclusion, Pakistan bouncing back from a seven-wicket defeat to chase down 378 – the sixth-highest chase of all time – to win by seven wickets despite being 13 for 2.It means a record of 10 Tests, six wins, two draws and two losses since last October – the joint-most victories in the period, alongside Australia, and fewer defeats than anyone bar Bangladesh and South Africa. That 12-month timeframe also coincides with the disappearance of Saeed Ajmal from the side, something which could have so easily debilitated the team.Yasir Shah’s emergence as a world-class legspinner has been a key reason why that hasn’t happened, but Misbah-ul-Haq has also been an impressive leader. He has scored three hundreds – all in Abu Dhabi where he averages a stratospheric 120 – but just as importantly he has cajoled the best out of his team more often than not.Against Australia last year, the platform was set in two prolific Tests in which the top order made nine hundreds between them, and that is before you factor in the wicketkeeper, Sarfraz Ahmed, who is averaging 50 at No. 7. Alongside Yasir v England’s spinners, Sarfraz v Jos Buttler is one head-to-head which starts significantly in Pakistan’s favour based on recent form.In many ways, the greater unpredictability of late has not been with Pakistan, but England. Throughout 2015, they have immediately followed strong victories – in Grenada, at Lord’s and in Cardiff – with insipid defeats, and though they broke that trend to regain the Ashes at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge, they then resumed their erratic record with another heavy loss at The Oval.Still, in beating Australia, England have confounded expectations already this year and despite the Ashes success, England’s finest hour under Alastair Cook remains the 2012-13 series victory in India. Cook played a monumental role, as did the now-departed Kevin Pietersen, while it was England’s spin twins – Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar – who triumphed.What Cook would give for just one of those two spinners now (it adds to the sadness of Panesar’s situation as he tries, once again, to keep his career afloat) but he has to play with the hand he has been dealt. Cook’s batting, as a fine player of spin, will again be crucial – England can’t rely on Joe Root alone – and he will have to be at his most cunning as a captain.Moeen Ali bats in the nets ahead of the first Test•Getty Images
It will be fascinating to see how Pakistan play Moeen Ali. Should they work him around and test his endurance, or follow Australia’s lead in trying to attack him with an attitude bordering on the disrespectful (an approach which, ironically, often played into Moeen’s hands)? If Pakistan are able to stop Moeen bowling long spells Cook’s task could become forlorn.However, if England are to win, against the odds, it will be a miracle if their spinners play the decisive role. In 2012, James Anderson and Stuart Broad were England’s outstanding bowlers but that series took place in the UAE’s winter – January – as opposed to the oppressive late summer this time. They were also three years younger.The relative whipper-snappers, Mark Wood and Stokes, with their skiddy pace and ability to find reverse swing, will have to help make up for the lack of a proven matchwinning spinner while Steven Finn’s four wickets in the second warm-up match have provided a late conundrum, or a nice headache, for Cook and Trevor Bayliss.But the bowling won’t matter much without runs on the board. Since England last visited the UAE and contrived to lose after bowling Pakistan out for 99 in Dubai, the lowest first-innings total to win a Test in the region is Pakistan’s 341 against Sri Lanka in 2014, a game in which they chased down 302. In the last 12 months, in the same number of Tests, England’s top seven have scored nine hundreds against Pakistan’s 24.The recall of Shoaib Malik, with a Test average of 33, suggests the future may not be quite so rosy once Misbah and Younis Khan, who is on the verge of becoming Pakistan’s leading Test run-scorer, depart the scene. However, in the immediate future, it represents quite a gap for England to bridge.
Ben Duckett has been given “complete support” by his captain Ben Stokes and retained in England’s XI for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG despite his failure to reach 30 in six innings in the Ashes series so far and an ECB investigation into his conduct.A video, which appeared to show Duckett drunk, unsure how to get back to his hotel, and calling a fan a “p***k”, went viral on social media hours after Rob Key, England’s managing director, pledged to investigate reports of heavy drinking during the team’s trip to Noosa after the second Test. The ECB said on Monday night that it was “aware” of the video and planned to “establish the facts”.England have made two changes for the fourth Test with Jacob Bethell and Gus Atkinson replacing Ollie Pope and the injured Jofra Archer, but Duckett has been retained. He has underperformed in Australia, averaging 16.16, and has not scored a half-century in his last 12 international innings across formats, but England do not have a spare opener in their squad.Related
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Key had said before the video circulated on Tuesday that heavy drinking during an international tour was “completely unacceptable”, but Stokes threw his support behind Duckett, describing him as an “important player” and an “incredibly influential person” within the England change room.”It’s all pretty fresh and pretty new,” Stokes said. “I’ve obviously reached out and spoken to him and offered my complete support with him throughout this. He’s such an important player for this team, and we’ve still got two games of cricket to play. He’s an incredibly influential person within this group.”Stokes has often been the subject of unwanted media attention, not least when he was involved in a street-fight outside a Bristol nightclub and was suspended from the 2017-18 Ashes tour by the ECB as a result.”I have first-hand experience of how this can affect people,” he said. “I will always support my players, particularly in a moment like this where everything feels like it’s on top of you – and for some players more than others as well. My job as England captain is obviously to be out there and get results for the team, but also to try to give people the best chance of being in a mental space where they can go out there and perform.Ben Duckett speaks to Rob Key ahead of the fourth Test•Robbie Stephenson/PA Images via Getty Images
“Supporting them and letting them know that I will be there for them through thick and thin is very, very important, and Ben Duckett knows that… I know what it’s like. It’s not a nice place to be in, but he knows that he’s got the support of myself and the other guys around him as well.”He refused to answer when asked if Duckett had done anything wrong. “I’m here to support him. I’ll always support my players and I made that pretty clear.”England have come under intense scrutiny since arriving in Australia and Stokes described going 3-0 down as the toughest period of his tenure. “I’ve been in this role for a while now and I’ve had some very, very, very good times,” he told SEN Radio. “Right here, right now, this is, most definitely, the hardest time that I’ve had as England captain.”He added that England’s players deserve some “empathy” while touring overseas for long periods of time. “It is very gruelling and it is tough when you’re here, there and everywhere,” he said. “You have to deal with the emotions of being away, the scrutiny that you are under, in particular when things aren’t going well… There needs to be a little bit of empathy.”