Duckett axed by England
BEN DUCKETT has been left out of the England Lions tour to the West Indies in February and March as a direct result of his behaviour in Perth. The opening batsman, below, was fined, given a final written warning and dropped for a tour game after pouring beer over James Anderson’s head in a nightclub. An ECB statement confirmed that his punishment did not stop in Australia. It said the batsman has not been selected “as a result of the off-field incident which led to his suspension and fine in Australia”. Lions coach Andy Flower was furious that his players were out with the senior squad just 36 hours before the biggest match of their tour.
MASON CRANE is being lined up for his Test debut in front of a 90,000 crowd in one of the most intimidating arenas in world sport as England consider a shake-up for the Boxing Day Test.
With the Ashes lost, legspinner Crane, 20, could be handed a start in the fourth Test at the raucous Melbourne Cricket Ground if England decide to beef up their spin options and pick three seamers.
Craig Overton will miss out with a cracked rib, but will stay with the squad in an effort to be fit for the final Test in Sydney.
England will take a look at the pitch before deciding on their line-up with Mark Wood or Tom Curran also pushing for Overton’s place if coach Trevor Bayliss and Joe Root decide the pitch is not going to offer enough to the slow bowlers.
But Crane is right at the front of the queue. It would be a big ask given the size of the occasion and with his returns on tour so far not exactly eyecatching: five first-class wickets in two tour matches at an average of nearly 60.
There would, though, be a degree of logic in challenging the Australia batsmen with something they have not yet faced given how easy they have found life against the seamers.
Crane rose to the occasion when plucked out of grade cricket in Sydney earlier this year, playing for New South Wales in a Sheffield Shield match against South Australia – the first overseas player to represent the state since Imran Khan in 1985.
In that match his returns were on the expensive side – 27.2 overs going for 116 – but his five wickets were crucial in helping NSW to a win.
And he impressed several good judges, including two former Australian Test players who were instrumental in his call-up – Trevor Chappell, coach of his grade side, and Geoff Lawson, a NSW assistant coach.
Crane’s selection would be a nod to the ongoing struggles of Moeen Ali on this tour. It is thought his inclusion might help the all-rounder, who is known to feel pressure when he is the front-line spinner.
Stuart Broad will also be monitored in the build up to Melbourne after admitting he was struggling with a left knee niggle before the Perth Test. His form has been poor with his pace down and his return of 0-142 in Australia’s only innings at the WACA being the worst of his career.
Overton’s injury is thought to originate from the blow on his left side received when he was hit by a ball from Josh Hazlewood during the second Test in Adelaide.
But it got significantly worse when he attempted what would have been a brilliant catch diving to his left off his own bowling in Perth.
Overton was quick to admit it would be hard to miss out on what is still the biggest occasion in Test cricket – a Boxing Day Ashes Test at the MCG – but will not want to lose his place on the tour to New Zealand in March by making the injury worse.
He said: “I’ve always been taught to fight through things, and that’s what I’ve had to do but it’s quite sore.
“Obviously I got hit last week but it was fine. But then I went for that caught-andbowled and landed on it and we think that’s when I did it.
“It’s a hairline fracture but it could have made it worse or punctured a lung or something the doc said.”