Image Credit- Getty
The moment has come for England to take off their
trousers, turn them inside out and put them back on after the ODI World Cup
disasterclass. White-ball reset time is now.
The latest rebuild is interesting, though, because it
seems that more external than internal message is indicating that it’s a
rebuild at all. Although there is a new group of players in the Caribbean, guys
like Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Joe Root, and Jonny Bairstow are still sitting at
home mending and resting, ready to rejoin the team (retirement announcements
pending).
“There hasn’t been that message,” Ben
Duckett said after England’s first training session in Antigua, in reply to
whether the message to the group was that this is the new era, with the shirts
they’re playing in being theirs to keep.
“I need to go and prove that I’m good enough to
be on this team and so do the other guys, so I don’t think it’s the case at
all, this team could change next series.”
“I’m genuinely just thinking about the next three
weeks,” Duckett, who scored his maiden ODI century against Ireland in
September, said at the prospect of this being a career-defining series for a
number of players. “I know how difficult it is to stay in a team when
there’s this many players and I think the biggest thing I’ve learned over the
last 12 to 15 months is not thinking too far ahead.
“I just think it’s a massive opportunity to show
what we can do. I’ve been around and not around the white-ball group for the
past however many years and it’s been impossible to break into, so for me
personally I’m just buzzing to get a go and be out here.”