Ben Duckett Axed from England Lion's Squad for the Windies Tour

The swashbuckling batsman, Ben Duckett has been axed from England Lion’s squad which will travel to the Windies in February and March after his recent behaviour in Australia.

The Northamptonshire batsman received a letter of final warning for his conduct and got fined for pouring a drink on James Anderson in a Perth bar while England’s senior and Lions players socialised together early this month.

“Ben Duckett has not been selected as a result of the off-field incident which led to his suspension and fine in Australia,” an ECB spokesperson was heard saying.

Another England’s recently discarded openers, Keaton Jennings, will captain the squad that will play four-day Test and limited-over matches against the West Indies A side.

Also Read: Ben Duckett Faces Disciplinary Charges for Alcohol-Related Issue

Lancashire opener Haseeb Hameed and Middlesex seamer Toby Roland-Jones will make a comeback to the squad after suffering injuries. Hameed’s hope of returning to England’s top-order for the Ashes series was struck by a hand injury, while Roland-Jones, who made a brilliant start to his England Test career last summer was unable to travel to Australia after suffering a stress fracture to his back.

Mason Crane and Ben Foakes, who have not featured yet for the England team in the ongoing Ashes were included in the squad for the four-day series along with Jamie Porter, the highest wicket-taker in last season’s Specsavers County Championship.

Also Read: The Ashes 2017/18: Can’t Keep Making The Same Mistakes, Says Trevor Bayliss After Ben Duckett Incident

“We have selected a total of 22 players for these two series in the West Indies, to ensure we gain the most value in terms of assessing players in both first-class and one-day cricket,” national selector James Whitaker said.

Also Read: Kevin Pietersen Hits Back at Strauss Following Ben Duckett’s Drunken Charges

England Lion’s Squad:

Both squads: Keaton Jennings (Lancashire), Joe Clarke (Worcestershire), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Jamie Porter (Essex), Paul Coughlin (Nottinghamshire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Nick Gubbins (Middlesex), Alex Davies (Lancashire).

Four-day squad: Haseeb Hameed (Lancashire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Toby Roland-Jones (Middlesex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Mason Crane (Hampshire), Josh Tongue (Worcestershire).

One-day squad: Sam Northeast (Kent), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Dominic Bess (Somerset), Tom Helm (Middlesex), George Garton (Sussex), Matt Parkinson (Lancashire).