Day 2: New Zealand 438 all out lead England 223-2 (Duckett 113, Bethell 74*) by 215 runs
TRENT BRIDGE — Ben Duckett’s hard graft in the spring blossomed into a first Test century in more than a year as the opener produced an innings that not only saved his own career but got England back into this series decider against New Zealand in Nottingham.
As the 31-year-old completed the single that brought up his seventh Test hundred – and first since last June’s Headingley Test against India – he ran towards the Radcliffe Road End before fist-pumping manically and soaking up the acclaim of his home crowd.
Mere metres away from where Duckett ended up with his bat aloft is Nottinghamshire’s Bodyline Gym.
It’s here where a player who shocked England with the state of his fitness at the start of last winter’s Ashes tour spent hours on the treadmill getting back into shape once he decided to opt out of a £200,000 Indian Premier League deal with Delhi Capitals in March.
Duckett counter-attacked on Day 2 at Trent Bridge (Photo: Reuters)Under the watchful eyes of Nottinghamshire’s strength and fitness coach Zak Bess, Duckett got himself into the best shape of his life.
With the whole programme being overseen by England fitness coach Pete Sim, who would regularly travel up to Nottingham, Duckett focused on running for the first time in his career and also strength work. He lost a stone – around 6kg – as the hard work paid off with results that were immediately noticeable to England’s management when he joined up for the team’s pre-series training camp in Loughborough earlier this month.
It’s something that needed to be done after Duckett turned up at the start of England’s winter in New Zealand so out of shape he was sent to Perth early to work on his fitness.
Yet the worst moment was to come in early December when he was caught on camera drunk and disoriented late at night during England’s mid-Ashes “stag-do” in Noosa.
Just look at that reaction! Ben Duckett brings up his seventh Test hundred pic.twitter.com/D7dBLfHpl7
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 26, 2026The whole episode was emblematic of an Ashes tour that was marked by off-field indiscipline. It’s a hangover that remains to this day, with the build-up to this series decider against New Zealand overshadowed by the late-night shenanigans of captain Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson in London after the first Test at Lord’s.
Ironically, both the decision to drop Zak Crawley, Duckett’s opening partner, after Australia and the psychodrama over Stokes allowed the Nottinghamshire man to fly under the radar coming into this match.
But after 14 innings without a Test fifty, and an average of 26 since his last century, his runs here were crucial to his future in this England team.
It’s why the choice was made to skip the IPL. Duckett knew his place was under severe threat after a winter where he struggled for runs in Australia and then spent the entirety of the T20 World Cup on the bench. A sign he was perhaps not held in the esteem he was once was came last week when he was left out of England’s T20 squad for the upcoming series against India.
Duckett struggled during the Ashes and was left out of the team for the whole of the T20 World Cup (Photo: Getty)As the team – and the management – were being scrutinised for a lack of professionalism in the wake of that 4-1 defeat in Australia, Duckett knew he was also in the firing line.
“Throughout the Ashes I was working hard and I don’t think I was in really bad shape,” he said back in March after his IPL decision. “But I’ve always kind of gone up and down with it [fitness].
“I think at 26, 27 or 28 you can get away with it. Whereas I’m obviously getting older now. I definitely want to make that a priority moving forward. I want to prolong playing cricket for England and the professional side of that is certainly going to help.”
That goal was achieved, as shown by his stamina at the crease during a day at Trent Bridge where the mercury touched 36 degrees.
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On an admittedly flat pitch, that also seems to have been solved. After being gifted a life when he was dropped on eight off the bowling of Nathan Smith, Duckett crunched the next delivery through the covers for four. He never looked back.
England are a team who have been doubting their own methods this summer. But whatever their new style ends up being, they need Duckett at his free-flowing best to get there.
Now, after much hard work behind the scenes and a slice of luck, he’s back.
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