Test cricket exposes a players weakness

I believe it was Athers who mentioned on commentary that Test cricket exposes a players weakness in short order. No doubt, making your debut in the subcontinent will exacerbate any deficiencies against spin! Perhaps he can have a long sit down with Ben Stokes who has shown considerable improvement against spin.

Duckett has two things in his favour: His attack minded nature helps to balance out the steadiness at the top with Cook and Hameed, and England have shown a willingness in recent years to give a player a decent run in the side before cutting bait.

I do think it is asking a lot to expect him to tinker with his technique mid-series. But he is going to have to find a way to get his head moving toward the ball. As it is, his natural instinct is to move his front foot outside leg stump while keeping his head over his back foot. His bat is nowhere near his pad, its not in a straight line and he ends up throwing his bat forward while exposing all three stumps.

As such, England have somewhat of a tough decision to make. Do they place a greater importance on giving Duckett the experience in the hopes he can develop and improve or on winning the series? If they believe that Duckett is the answer at number four, then I think it is only fair to stick with him.
By Dillinger