England’s Test cricketer Ben Duckett has found himself in hot water, facing a £700 fine after being caught speeding just hours before a match. This incident adds to a series of recent challenges for the cricketer, who has been striving to solidify his role as a Test opener.
Only days before this speeding conviction, Duckett made headlines by withdrawing from a lucrative £200,000 deal with the Delhi Capitals in the IPL. His decision was prompted by a commitment to focus on red-ball cricket with Nottinghamshire, aiming to secure his position ahead of England’s anticipated series against New Zealand this summer.
Compounding his troubles, Duckett recently issued a public apology following a video that surfaced showing him visibly intoxicated and slurring his words during a night out in Noosa, Australia. This incident occurred midway through the Ashes tour, raising concerns about his off-field conduct.
At 31, the left-handed batsman’s future as a Test opener is already under scrutiny due to a worrisome decline in form over the past year. These recent events have done little to bolster his standing within the team.
In his latest legal issue, Duckett admitted guilt for speeding on the A50 near Stoke in Staffordshire. He was penalized not only with a fine but also received four points on his driving license. The offense took place shortly after 1:30 PM on August 24, when he was clocked at 93mph in a 70mph zone.
The incident happened at just after 1.30pm on August 24, when Duckett was caught on a police speed gun driving 93mph in a 70mph zone.
It came just hours before Duckett played a starring role in a Birmingham Phoenix Hundred victory over the Manchester Originals at Old Trafford.
Duckett admitted the speeding offence in September after being written to by Staffordshire Police.
Pictured: Ben Duckett behind the wheel of his car when he was caught speeding by Staffordshire Police in Stoke last year. England Test cricketer was driving 93mph in a 70mph zone
The conviction comes days after Duckett pulled out of a £200,000 deal to play for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL in order to play red-ball cricket for Nottinghamshire
He then pleaded guilty through the Single Justice Procedure when the force decided to bring a criminal prosecution rather than impose an out-of-court fine, due to the high speed he had been driving.
It is not Duckett’s first encounter with the criminal courts.
As a rising star in 2015, he was prosecuted for drink-driving after crashing his car into a ditch in Northamptonshire, leading to a 12-month road ban.
Speaking to the Daily Mail last week, Duckett addressed the recent viral video of him in Australia.
‘It’s not something any professional sportsman should be doing,’ he said. ‘I think it’s a fine line in terms of the timing: it seemed like it was like the day before a Test or something.
‘Ultimately, we were having a break which was planned before the series. And if we’re winning that series, it’s probably not news, and no one cares if [Australia opener] Travis Head’s in that video: everyone’s probably absolutely loving it. And that is sport.
‘We were struggling as a side, I was struggling as a player. But you shouldn’t be putting yourself in a position like that, to be honest – any human being, let alone a professional sportsman. That was a really tough period for me, and it certainly wasn’t my favourite Christmas I’ve had in my life.
‘But the one thing looking back on it was the support I had from the ECB. It was not what they needed. I thank Keysy, Baz, Stokes for all the support. I did hold my hands up, but I’m not very proud of it.
Duckett was first selected for England’s Test side in 2016, but ran into controversy the following year when he reportedly poured a drink over bowler James Anderson’s head during a night out.
He became a key player as an opener for England from 2022, adapting well to the team’s ‘Bazball’ style of play.
However, Duckett himself has acknowledged the ‘ridiculously big dip’ in his form over the last year, while the incident in Noosa – during a disastrous Ashes tour – placed him again at the centre of a drunken night out controversy.
‘I am sorry for that incident, it was not professional and shouldn’t have happened’, he told the Telegraph last week.
‘There is no hiding away from it.’
Duckett’s speeding prosecution was dealt with behind closed doors last Friday without a formal court hearing.
The cricketer entered his guilty plea online and will now be written to with instructions for settling the £1,100 court bill.
