Maintaining – or not maintaining – his fitness has been a recurring theme in Duckett’s career. As a youngster, he twice missed out on tours for failing to meet conditioning standards – once with England Under-19s in 2013, then a Northants pre-season trip in 2015.
This time, with a Test career on the line, he has worked with England fitness coach Pete Sim and Nottinghamshire counterpart Zac Bess to lose “five or six” kilograms.
Duckett added: “I started running, which was good!
“I had a four-week block when I got back from the winter where I didn’t necessarily hit many balls.
“It’s just really important now that I use that hard work that I’ve done and maintain it.
“It’s something I’ve really enjoyed and it’s been great for my mental space and getting away from the game. I went to the gym, I ran a lot and a bit of weight came off.”
The early signs for Duckett were good. Three half-centuries in his first five innings for Notts this summer were followed by an unbeaten double century against Surrey.
He still needed the international worm to turn. In the context of the snakepit pitch, scores of 19 and 33 in England’s first-Test win over New Zealand at Lord’s were useful, only to be followed by more misfortune in the loss at The Oval.
On the second morning, Duckett dropped a simple and crucial catch off Kyle Jamieson as England surrendered the momentum. When he came to bat, he was in glorious touch for 36 before being run out by a never-there call from new opening partner Emilio Gay.
At Trent Bridge, it could have been a similar story. In perfect batting conditions and with England replying to New Zealand’s 438, Duckett made his intentions known with two driven fours off Nathan Smith’s first over of the innings.
Smith, though, would return to find Duckett’s edge. Henry Nicholls should have pouched a simple catch at third slip. When the ball dropped to the turf, Duckett responded by punching the next delivery for four and did not look back.
“I was chatting to [England fielding coach] Sarah Taylor,” said Duckett. “We were making a bit of a joke about how I’ve got to get some luck eventually and that’s how the game works.
“I’m extremely thankful for Henry Nicholls for doing that to me.
“It’s been a really frustrating time, because I’ve not felt out of nick, I’ve just not got the runs that I really want. ‘Mother Cricket’ was there for me today. I got put down and made them pay for it.”
