Following the conclusion of the Boxing Day Ashes Test against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia batter Travis Head revealed that he reached out to Ben Duckett following criticism of the rival camp’s mid-series Noosa trip. An investigation into their conduct has been launched by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) following a video which showed the England opening batter in an inebriated state.
The Australian batter, who has a knack for standing up on the big days, said it was unfortunate that the clip made its way to social media, and Duckett had to witness mud-slinging on the eve of the Melbourne Test, which England eventually won by four wickets inside two days.
Head, who shares a good rapport with Duckett, said that players lead a high-profile life, so they should be given their personal space when on long, gruelling tours overseas.
“Yeah, stiff. I think from one of his own as well. I reckon it was an English fan as well, which is a bit stiff. Yeah, I get along with Ducky well. I reached out to him to see if he was going alright. Everyone’s still human, everyone’s still people. What you do in your personal time is up to you,” Head told reporters in Melbourne on Sunday.
“I know we live a high-profile life, and some people are more high-profile than others and get themselves in situations. At the end of the day, it’s a bit stiff, but I don’t think there’s any real issue with it since that’s something to talk about. As I said, when there are big gaps in tests, you’ve got to find something to talk about. Hopefully, we can play a bit longer next week and have less stuff to talk about,” he added.
‘Don’t have an issue’
Head, who has already scored two centuries in the ongoing Ashes, said that he doesn’t have a problem with the England contingent taking a trip during the tour, as his team has done so itself when on away tours.
“Everyone else has made a lot more out of it, I think, than what it should have been. We’ve done the same thing. I spoke about it a couple of weeks ago. We’ve done the same thing on past tours, so I didn’t have an issue with it,” said Head.
Speaking of the Boxing Day Test, England wrapped up the contest in two days after chasing down the target of 175 with four wickets in hand, riding on a 40-run knock by Jacob Bethell.
England have already lost the Ashe,s but the win in Melbourne comes as a major respite for captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum. The fifth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground is slated to begin on Sunday, January 4.
