I won't listen to many people if I get another chance: Ben Duckett

22-year-old Ben Duckett registered three fifties on the tour of Bangladesh (Test and ODI) and his approach to playing spin made him an instant favorite to tackle the Indian turners during England’s Test campaign against India last year. But in contrast to the expectations, Duckett scored 13, 5 and 0 in his three innings over the Rajkot and Vizag Test match.

He was instructed by skipper Alaister Cook to bat out the Vizag Test match which apparently ended in a 246-run loss for the visitors. With just 7 international matches under his kitty, the right-hander believes he could have rather executed his natural game of attacking and saved the Test.

“In the last innings I had, Cookie spoke to us – ‘we’re going to try to bat all day here, whether it’s 20 (runs) off 160 (balls)’,” said Duckett. That isn’t my game, [but] I did try to do what we were asked. My way of batting for the draw is actually trying to get 120 off 160. I was on the verge of getting dropped … [but] I did what the captain said.

“I think in India, Bangladesh, you have a lot of time to sit in your room – there’s not as much to do – and you can’t really get away from it. You go on your phone and your name’s there, and you almost think ‘I’m getting dropped’ before you even are.

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“I think, going into that last innings, maybe my mindset was already ‘I’m gone here’ – rather than ‘No, actually, I’m going to get 130 and draw us this game, be a hero’.”

Duckett said that people believed that he went into the sub-continental tour as a better player of spin bowling but came back with an impression that plenty needs to be worked upon.

The Kent-born cricketer is ready to grind it out and believes the Indian experience will come to good use as he looks forward to working hard and make his case.