Opener Ben Duckett insists England will be well prepared for their Test series in India, despite criticism of their last-minute arrival in the country.
Ben Stokes’ squad are currently in state-of-the-art facilities in Abu Dhabi on a training camp and are planning to transfer to Hyderabad just three days before the first Test begins on January 25.
Former England bowler Steve Harmison believes that is simply not enough acclimatisation time in Indian conditions and paves the way for a 5-0 defeat, but low-key warm-up matches have fallen off the agenda since Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum took charge of the side.
With the series already spanning seven weeks and no guarantees over the local players they would come up against, Duckett has no qualms about the decision.
“There’s training every day and we’re hitting thousands of balls, with the bowlers bowling to us,” he told the Sky Sports Cricket podcast.
“There probably is loads of spinners (to train with) in India but none of them are (Ravindra) Jadeja, Axar Patel and (Ravichandran) Ashwin. You might face a 15-year-old off-spinner in the nets but that’s not really going to equip you for the first Test match.
“We’ve got quite a big squad with us and there will be hours of training every day. In India you are pretty hotel-bound, the luxury of being in Abu Dhabi is you can get out and about for an extra 10 days.
“India can be a really tough place to tour, everyone knows that. The mental side of the game is just as important and I don’t think there’s too many complaints from that squad who are having 10 days in Abu Dhabi rather than 10 days stuck in a hotel.”
- 1st Test: Jan 25-29, Hyderabad
- 2nd Test: Feb 2-6, Visakhapatnam
- 3rd Test: Feb 15-19, Rajkot
- 4th Test: Feb 23-27, Ranchi
- 5th Test: Mar 7-11, Dharamsala
England have vowed not to curb the attacking instincts that have defined the so-called ‘Bazball’ era, promising to go on the attack even if faced with extreme turning conditions.
That is exactly what they experienced on their previous Test tour in 2021, a 3-1 defeat, and Duckett feels his role at the top of the innings is more crucial than ever in setting the right tone.
“Me and Zak (Crawley) at the top of the order have to realise that in the first couple of balls as we kind of judge that wicket,” he said.
“If we feel like it’s going to be a terrible pitch, sometimes getting 60 off 50 balls or whatever it may be is going to be a valuable knock for the team. It’s going to be for me and Zak to give that feedback as soon as possible, if we get 180-200, let’s do that as soon as possible.
“I know under Baz and Stokesy we will have full licence to go and do whatever we want.”
