My Sporting Life is The i Paper’s look behind the curtain at what drives sports stars to greatness. This week, we speak to Ben Duckett, the England opener whose aggressive style personified the Bazball era and who is still a key man in his country’s Test and one-day teams.
I thought I’d never play for England again
I’d been out of the team for six years, when I was dropped after four Tests in Bangladesh and India, and I feared I’d never play for England again. I was a young lad and I didn’t really feel like I showed what I could do. So to get a hundred in that first game back against Pakistan in 2022, taking all that pressure off me, was incredible.
When I got called back into the team, I would have taken how it’s gone so far, to be nearing 50 Tests now [his 50th is set to be against South Africa at Johannesburg in December]. I didn’t think I was going to play my fifth Test.
Ultimately, playing cricket for my country is something I’ve always wanted to do, so hopefully there’ll be some better moments I can add in in a few years. Maybe the Ashes or the World Cup next year. Those team ones are always more special. Hopefully there’s a few big ones around the corner.
