Batting coach of Ben Duckett, James Knott from Stowe school put down the batter’s past of playing hockey as a chief reason for him being so good at the sweep and reverse-sweep shots, which were in full display in Rajkot.
After five plays and misses in the first four overs against the seamers, Ben Duckett tore into the Indian spinners in Rajkot in his jaw-dropping century, in 88 balls. To do it against the spin trio of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav puts Duckett’s innings as one of the best by a visiting batter in India.
The Rajkot surface was placid with the odd ball staying low. But Ben Duckett was on the charge throughout the series and finally got himself in for a big knock. After being dismissed thrice while defending to spinners, today the left-hander unleashed an array of sweep shots against the spin trio, ready to die while attacking.
Ben Duckett hit 21 fours and 2 sixes in his unbeaten innings of 133 (118), most of those were a range of sweep shots and pulls. The southpaw unleashed sweeps, reverse-sweeps, paddle-sweeps, sweep-slogs, and even a switch-hit in this entertaining, jaw-dropping knock.
Duckett’s batting coach James Knott at Stowe school reckons his success at these shots comes from his past of playing a lot of hockey.
James Knott told The Indian Express, “Ben played hockey and rugby, as well as cricket from a young age at Winchester House Prep School and then throughout his time at Stowe. In hockey, he was a great exponent of reverse hitting the ball and could already play the reverse sweep and switch hit when he arrived at Stowe. We worked more on the orthodox sweep and the paddle sweep which he didn’t play as much.”
James Knott recalled the condition of Ben Duckett after horror tour of India and Bangladesh in 2016
Life seems to have come a round circle for Duckett. It was after his 2016 India tour that he was dropped from the Test side in his first foray. Stokes and McCullum brought him back in 2022 and he hasn’t looked back. Under Stokes in the Bazball era, Duckett averages 55 and has a strike rate of 91.99.
James Knott recalled, “He did, he came into school for a session not long after he got back [from India in 2016]. His confidence was hit and he needed to get that back. It took time to come, but he has always been at his best when positive and taking the attacking option At the age he is now he knows his game inside out and knows better how to deal with different pitches and situations.”
