Viral footage of England opener Ben Duckett being drunk has spread a wave of insecurity in the English dressing room. However, Michael Vaughan, a former England captain, has asked the ECB to prioritize broader concepts rather than focusing on small incidents that are actually affecting England’s on-field performance.
England have already lost the Ashes series and the ECB and England management have been held responsible for the careless attitude of the cricketers in the show. On several occasions, the English team’s Noosa vacation has been held responsible for these circumstances.
England head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes have repeatedly explained that the Noosa holidays were always in the plan and with such a long break between matches, the players needed to take their focus off the game and come back fresh.
Ben Duckett is feeling the pressure of the ECB’s fact-finding exercise
England’s rocky Ashes campaign is becoming even more uneventful after Ben Duckett was seen heavily drunk in one of the viral videos from England’s Noosa holiday. Reports also claimed that many England players drank heavily during the break.
With the Boxing Day Test looming, it was a very bad time for the video to become public. England’s managing director, Rob Key, promised to investigate the allegations, and Ben Duckett is probably feeling the heat of the incident at the moment.
The form of England’s opening batsman has also been poor during this entire Australian tour. While Zak Crawley has shown great form at times, Duckett has failed to play a single impressive innings.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has come out in support of Duckett and the English players with a scathing comment. They have turned the outrage towards what they consider to be the main cause of concern, that a player has been drinking.
“I’m not going to criticize England for what they did in Noosa. I’m going to criticize what they do on the cricket field, the way they play and the way they prepare to play cricket.”
In a column for the Telegraph, Michael Vaughan said, “I’m not going to point the finger at a group of youngsters who have had a few beers on a few days off. I did exactly the same as them when I played for England, although I at least knew when it was time to go home and Ben Duckett probably needs to learn the same.”
“The game of cricket has created a culture of drinking” – Ben Duckett
The former England captain also claimed that dropping a single player misses a big point, as such resting behavior has become common in the game of cricket over the decades.
“On the evidence we have seen, Duckett should not be reprimanded at all, and neither should other players, because this is a wider issue: the game of cricket has given rise to this culture of drinking.”
“England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa all have a similar culture. You give a group of young people three or four days off to relax, and they’re going to go something like this,” he concluded.
Also read: Ben Stokes issues official statement on Ben Duckett’s drunken video amid fears of ECB disciplinary action
