IND vs ENG | ‘Akash Deep’s send-off to Ben Duckett certainly needs sanction’: Duckett’s coach | Cricket News

While the fifth Test between India and England will be remembered for the visitors’ glorious comeback in a must-win match, it also witnessed a controversial moment. Fast-bowler Akash Deep celebrated in Ben Duckett’s face after dismissing him in England’s first innings, placed a hand around his shoulder and exchanged a few words with a smile.Duckett had earlier attempted to unnerve the Indian cricketer by reportedly saying, “You cannot get me out in here”. Akash Deep’s send-off drew criticism from members of the cricket fraternity, including former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who claimed that he would have probably punched the pacer had it come during his time.“It was part of a competitive series but certainly needs a sanction to discourage youngsters. At the same time, it doesn’t bother me personally,” said Duckett’s childhood coach James Knott in an exclusive interaction with TimesofIndia.com.

The English batter was among the hosts’ top run-getters in the five-match Test series, accumulating 462 runs at an average of 51.33. Knott highlighted Duckett’s intent and desire to excel in the toughest of circumstances.“Often people say that he is maybe too laid back, but Duckett is very competitive when he is out in the middle, as you saw during the recent Test series. Shubman Gill told me he enjoyed the challenge when Duckett was at the crease. He is short, left-handed, scores square of the wicket, sweeps both sides in multiple areas. In that sense, Duckett is not only a hard man to bowl at but very different to a lot of other players out there. Think of Gill, for example, who is a much more orthodox player,” stated Knott.“When I first saw Duckett, he already had the reverse sweep and the switch hit but we added the orthodox sweep. He was always one of the smallest for his age but just hit the ball harder than most of them. The biggest thing he learnt during under-14 or under-15 level cricket was that he doesn’t necessarily have the power to clear the boundary. So he had to learn to keep the ball down, which he still does,” added the English cricketer’s coach.

Duckett has witnessed his fair share of controversy over the years, with the England Cricket Board (ECB) opting to suspend the batter on disciplinary grounds back in 2017. The 30-year-old cricketer was accused of pouring a drink over former English pacer James Anderson’s head, which was later clarified.“There were instances where we had to discipline him at school level although there weren’t too many of them to be honest. Duckett was benched for a few matches as per our code of conduct. He took that well and came back more mature which helped shape his character. There were times where an arm around the shoulder was needed and others where a kick up the backside was necessary. Duckett was a single young man when he was battling low points in his life. Now he’s got a young child and is getting married. Those sort of things give you a bit more perspective in life,” stated Knott.