Australian batter Travis Head has come out in support of England opener Ben Duckett, following videos that surfaced on social media about him walking around in an inebriated state during the visitors’ trip to Noosa, ahead of the third Test match at Adelaide. The southpaw said that a few Australian players had been involved in similar incidents in the past, and the incident involving Duckett had been blown out of proportion.
“I was jealous. Everyone else has made a lot more out of it than what it should have been. We’ve done the same thing on past tours, so I didn’t have an issue with it.”
“Everyone’s still human. What you do in your personal time is up to you. I know we live a high-profile life, and some people are more high-profile than others and get themselves in situations, but at the end of the day, it’s a bit stiff,” Head told reporters on Sunday.
The 31-year-old revealed that he had texted Duckett to check if he was alright before the Melbourne Test, adding that large gaps between matches always gave folks a lot more to talk about.
“I get along well with Ducky and reached out to him to check if he’s going alright. When there are big gaps between Tests, people have to find something to talk about. Hopefully, we can play a bit longer next week and give them less to talk about,” he added.
Ahead of the Boxing Day Test, England captain Ben Stokes had also voiced his support for Duckett, saying that he was an integral member of the setup.
“He’s an incredibly influential person within this group. But he knows that he’s got the support of myself and the other guys around him as well. This kind of stuff is very … I don’t know if close to me is the right wording, but I have first-hand experience of how this can affect people.”
“It’s never a nice place to be in when not only the media world, but also the social media world, is just piling on top of you. You don’t really have a leg to stand on when you have lost three games in a huge series like this. When you’re winning, everything’s great. When you’re losing, it’s not,” Stokes had said.
The fifth and final Ashes Test will start in Sydney on January 4.
