Duckett not picked for WI tour
LONDON: Batsman Ben Duckett has been left out of the England Lions squad to tour the West Indies after pouring a drink over James Anderson in a Perth bar.
Batsman Duckett, 23, had already been fined and suspended from Lions’ matches on the Australia tour after the latenight incident ahead of the third Test which infuriated the team’s management. “Ben Duckett has not been selected as a result of the off-field incident which led to his suspension and fine in Australia,” said an ECB spokesman.
The Northamptonshire batsman, who has played four Test and three one-day internationals, has already received a reported £1,500 ($2,000) fine and final written warning over his conduct.
The incident, the latest in a string of alcohol-related antics to generate headlines during England’s Ashes tour, took place as players from the senior and development squads socialised together in Avenue bar in Perth on December 7.
It followed Ben Stokes’ arrest and omission from the Ashes squad after a fight outside a Bristol bar in September, and Jonny Bairstow’s “headbutt” greeting to Australia batsman Cameron Bancroft in the same Perth bar on the first night of the tour.
The spotlight on the off-field antics of the England team led to them being labelled “tourists masquerading as cricketers” by the Australian press.
England coach Trevor Bayliss described Duckett’s incident as “trivial” but “not acceptable”.
The Lions development side will play three four-day matches and three one-day games against West Indies A in Jamaica and Antigua in February and March.