Travis Head has revealed he reached out to Ben Duckett to check on his welfare after a video of the England batter went viral last week, which appeared to show him intoxicated while on a night out during the Ashes tour.
Scrutiny has followed England during this Ashes series, with reports emerging that the Bazballers’ mid-series break in Noosa had turned into a beer-drinking ‘stag do’.
Duckett, meanwhile, has struggled for runs during the series, but on Sunday amassed 34 runs in England’s second innings to help the tourists snap their 15-year wait for a victory Down Under at the MCG.
After the Boxing Day Test was wrapped up in less than two days, members of the Australian cricket team returned to Yarra Park to sign autographs and meet with some of the fans who would have attended day three.
Head, who is friendly with Duckett, asked about what he made of England’s trip to Noosa.
‘I’m jealous,’ he replied, laughing before adding: ‘Everyone else has made a lot more about it than it should have been.
‘We’ve done the same thing on past tours. I don’t have an issue with it.’
The South Australian larrikin said he had felt for Duckett, adding that he felt moved to reach out to the England star.
‘Yeah, stiff, I think [the video came] from one of his own as well. I reckon it was an English fan as well, which is a bit stiff,’ Head said.
‘I get along with Duckey well. Reached out to him to see if he was going alright.
‘Everyone’s still human, everyone’s still people, and 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.
‘But I don’t think there’s any real issue. That’s something to talk about.
‘Like I said, when there’s big gaps in Tests, [you’ve] got to find something to talk about. So hopefully [we] can play a bit longer next week and less stuff to talk about.’
Chaos ensued on day one of the Boxing Day Test, with 20 wickets falling in one day. It was the first time Australia has seen 20 wickets in one day of a Test match since 1951. England would later go on to wrap up a four-wicket victory after a mere 852 balls were delivered during the match, making it the shortest-ever Test at the MCG since Australia’s clash against South Africa in 1932 which had a total of 656 deliveries.
A proud Ben Stokes hailed his team for finally ending their wait for a win in Australia, adding that the victory was particularly significant considering the scrutiny the team had been under ahead of the match.
His comments came after the England skipper had pleaded for ‘empathy’ for Duckett, describing him as an ‘important player for the team’.
‘It’s a special feeling,’ Stokes told TNT Sports. ‘Me and Joe [Root] have been on a few tours and it’s not gone particularly well. But an amazing feeling.
‘I think in particular, the couple of days in the build-up to this Test match, it was obviously a tough time for us as a team and certain individuals.
‘But the way in which we were able to keep the focus on the most important thing, which was the cricket out there, was pretty exceptional I think.’
It came after ECB managing director Rob Key had insisted that the reports of heavy drinking in Noosa would be looked into.
