Ben Duckett says he’ll TURN DOWN franchise opportunities to ensure he’s fully available for England

Ben Duckett insists he will do everything possible to continue playing in all formats for England and will turn down franchise opportunities to ensure he is available for his country.

Duckett, 28, spent six years in the international wilderness with just one Twenty20 appearance in 2019 before returning to make a century in the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi late last year, when England decided they were a better opening than Alex Lees.

He will now go into the first Test here against New Zealand in the early hours of Thursday morning hoping to prove, at 28, that he deserves extended runs in England’s red ball, 50 and over and T20 teams.

And, in a modern world where the march of franchises threatens the primacy of international cricket like never before, he is determined to put his country first.

“My soul’s focus is to play for England as often as I can,” Duckett said after England’s indoor practice today in a giant tent at the Bay Oval. ‘It’s something I’ve been working on for five or six years.

Ben Duckett has urged that he will do everything possible to continue playing in all formats for England.

The batsman will be hoping to show against New Zealand why he should be an England player in the long run.

‘I withdrew from a T20 competition (in the United Arab Emirates) just before playing in the one-day internationals in South Africa last month to give myself time to freshen up. This is my priority and I will try to take advantage of every opportunity I get.

The Notts opener could have made that 107 against Pakistan and has another four half-centuries in his seven Tests, but he will be under pressure to perform here as he looks the likeliest candidate to lead the way when Jonny Bairstow returns to full form.

To that end, he intends to go ‘even harder’ on the pink ball in this night-and-day test with England determined to maintain the high pace that has characterized their transformation since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over.

“The pink ball in these conditions could be adequate to go harder,” he insisted. ‘Sometimes when it’s tricky and the ball is moving, you might find us doing that. It will be interesting to see how New Zealand play their game, but we are all looking forward to it.”

A player who specializes in mastering spin bowling knows that the true test of his staying power at Test level will come if he is selected for the Ashes this summer and faces the pace and rebounding of Australia’s much heralded attack.

“My biggest learning when I first played for England was not to look too far,” Duckett said. “I just want to keep having fun, keep scoring runs and performing for the team. I don’t want to start thinking about what’s to come in the future.

‘There will be times in Test cricket when I will have to respect good bowling. But the way I’ve always played is if people throw badly, I’m going to try to take them down and get us off to a good start.

I talk a lot about going hard, but there will be times when you have to respect the opposition. That’s going to be the same on this tour as it was on Ashes in the summer. It’s just assessing the conditions and how well the opposition are bowling and go from there.”

Ben Stokes (L) has shaken up the England Test side under head coach Brendon McCullum (R)