Ben Duckett: England always care about winning and white-ball captaincy would be a 'dream'
Ben Duckett says it would be a "dream" to become England white-ball captain as he talks to Sky Sports about the chastening Champions Trophy campaign and his success in Test cricket since returning to the red-ball side in late 2022; England's summer starts with Zimbabwe Test from May 22
Monday 24 March 2025 13:29, UK
Ben Duckett insists England care about winning every game of cricket and were "hurting" after their Champions Trophy humbling.
England lost to Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa to be dumped out in the group stage of this winter's 50-over tournament in Pakistan and the UAE, which was won by India.
Opening batter Duckett had told reporters during the defeat-laden trip to India in January and February - in which the tourists were beaten in seven of eight white-ball matches - that he "did not care" if England were swept 3-0 in the ODI series as long as they went on to win the Champions Trophy weeks later.
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England managing director of cricket, Rob Key, has since said players can sometimes speak "rubbish" to the media while trying to protect their team-mates and Duckett told Sky Sports News that results do matter to the squad.
The 30-year-old said during county side Nottinghamshire's media day: "We are in the spotlight. People are always going to have opinions on what we say. At times I haven't got it right and it is a fine balance.
"It's certainly not the case that we don't want to win games.
"After every game in the Champions Trophy, if there was a camera you would see a group of lads hurting, wanting to win and believing they could win every single game.
"When I pull on an England shirt, whatever the format, the only thing on my mind is to go out and win it - win it for the country. The Champions Trophy was disappointing and we were all hurting a lot.
"There were moments where we played well and we could easily have won the first two games, and suddenly it is a different story.
"We came from a tough tour of India and I think when you are not used to getting over the line in tight games, that can have an effect on you."
'It would be a dream to captain England'
White-ball captain Jos Buttler stood down after England's hopes of reaching the Champions Trophy semi-finals were ended with defeat to Afghanistan, with Harry Brook and Test skipper Ben Stokes tipped as potential replacements.
Asked whether he would be interested in taking over the role, Duckett said: "To captain England would obviously be a dream.
"I don't think it's on the radar but I don't know that, which is why I am answering like that.
"We will see what happens moving forward and what decisions are made. I am just pretty happy playing for England at the minute.
"Three or four years ago I wouldn't have thought I'd be doing that, so just living my dream as a kid, representing my country - I am very happy playing all three formats."
Duckett: McCullum has had a massive impact on me
Duckett returned to the Test team ahead of the Pakistan tour in late 2022 after a six-year absence and marked his comeback with a century in his first innings.
The left-hander has scored 2,160 runs in 28 games in his second stint as a Test cricketer, with four hundreds, and says that success is down to the backing he has received from Brendon McCullum, who is now coach across all formats.
Duckett added: "When Baz [McCullum] came in, he said, 'don't judge yourself on this week, you are going to get a good run, so play with freedom and don't overcomplicate things'.
"Straightaway, I wasn't as nervous as I might have been, trying to get a score and play the next Test. That has had a massive impact on me and may be while I am still around now, playing the way I am playing."
Duckett is set to play for England in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge from May 22 and expects to feature in a "couple of games" for Nottinghamshire in the County Championship ahead of that fixture.
England then begin a five-Test series at home to India from June 20, before the Ashes series in Australia gets under way in Perth on November 21.
