Tuesday 18 October 2016 14:36, UK
It's been a dream season for Ben Duckett that has seen him win both PCA awards and earn an England call-up, but how has the youngster reached this point? Francis Kelly spoke to those in the know at Northamptonshire and Stowe School to find out more…
This time last year few cricket fans were aware of the name Ben Duckett outside of his county, Northamptonshire, despite a breakout 2015 domestic season. But thanks to an astonishing 2016, in which he scored 2,706 runs across all formats, that has been swiftly corrected.
Four centuries - the lowest of which was 185 and two of them doubles - in the County Championship, at a remarkable strike rate of 79.45, propelled him into the public's conscious; a record-breaking 220 not out for the England Lions against Sri Lanka A also confirming his potential to the national selectors.
On the face of it, those achievements and his place in the England Test and ODI squads for their tour of Bangladesh shouldn't come as surprise. However his route was not as clear cut as it first seemed.
For while his rise to international cricket looked predesigned, after being identified as one to watch before becoming a teenager and then progressing through the England junior ranks, but his route has been a complicated one. So to understand the present, we must first visit the past.
Those familiar with the destructive batsman from a young age speak highly of his explosive hands and punishing hitting, with James Knott, Duckett's former head of cricket at Stowe School, describing him as a "precocious talent".
Knott, son of ex-England wicketkeeper Alan Knott, first met Duckett when he was 10 and recalls seeing first hand how the 'small' boy developed as a 360-degree cricketer.
"Nothing was off the table with Ben," Knott said. "He had so much natural ability and picked things up very quickly. Despite his size he could hit the ball hard, and had an uncanny knack of finding the gaps.
"Stowe purchased a Merlyn machine during Ben's time at the school and he would practice the reverse sweeps on that, as well as a full range of sweeps, using his feet, hitting over extra cover - all the trademark shots he plays now. I'll remember him best though for his competitive edge, expansive stroke play and cheeky nature."
Competitive. It's a trait that might not appear striking for someone who is so laid back at the crease, but it's an aspect of Duckett's character that resonates with Northamptonshire's coach Dave Ripley. Much like Knott, Ripley watched closely as Duckett grew up, after first spotting the left-handed batsman a decade ago and helping to bring him to the county.
"He's very determined. He likes competition," Ripley said. "In his training, in his past, it's been about getting competition in to get the best out of him - little targets and goals in terms of numbers. When he was aged 14, 15 and 16 he didn't give a lot away with his facial expressions. It was always hard to tell if he was enjoying it or engaged."
The fun of academy life waned for a little period and, as Ripley admits, it "wasn't quite working" for Duckett. Following six-months away, a refreshed and refocused Duckett returned ready to give it another go. This was just the first episode on an eventful journey that would eventually see him selected for England this winter.
Progressing rapidly at Northamptonshire, Duckett soon secured a professional contract and was called up to represent England U19s while still 17. Yet ahead of the 2013 U19 World Cup, he was dropped from a tour to the UAE he was expected to captain because of failing fitness standards.
A difficult winter in Australia a year later saw him suffer the same punishment when he came back for pre-season unfit, this time missing out on the county's trip to Barbados. A drink-driving ban would follow not long after.
"We thought it would be good to allow him to stand on his own two feet. A broader remit around not just his cricket but the world in general," Ripley added. "He didn't enjoy it at all, he didn't score many runs and couldn't get motivated to do his fitness. He put his hands up that he hadn't done the work we expected him to have done.
"I think he realised he made a mistake and from that moment on he showed a lot of maturity. It didn't happen for him overnight. But when his chance came, he grasped it."
His opportunity arose almost by luck when injuries meant a slot at the top of the order opened up in Northamptonshire's County Championship team. While hesitant at first to move from his usual middle-order position, his county captain Alex Wakeley says Duckett ultimately thought that he could go in there and grab it with both hands.
He was not wrong, with Duckett finishing 2015 with 914 runs at an average of 60.93, including four centuries, as an opener. And he has not looked back since - mature now the word that repeatedly enters conversations discussing his progress.
"I've seen a full change in his game, his mental approach, he seems to have grown up as a cricketer," Wakely said. "He's a much more mature person, and his cricket has gone from strength to strength because of that. Ben is always hungry for runs. Even when he gets 100, 150 or 200 he's disappointed to get out."
It's a feature that Ripley has noticed this season, too
"Seeing him trudge off at home against Essex, when he had got a big hundred [189] and was batting really well only to be undone by a yorker, I'll remember that. It took him ages to get off the pitch. He's just got a huge desire to score big," Ripley added.
"He's not really changed anything batting-wise, I guess, it's the same basics from a technical point of view. He keeps his hands in now and gets his weight into the ball so he can transfer his weight rather than be a bit flat-footed and rely on his hands. He's got fantastic hands that can work the ball around but we've tried to get his feet to support that. It's just about run scoring after that."
No problem there, then, after the summer Duckett's had. And maybe this time next year, if that form continues, his name will be known throughout cricket.
