Ben Duckett breaks silence on Noosa Clip scandal, calls it ‘Worst' moment in cricketing career
Published - 28 Mar 2026, 11:49 AM | Updated - 28 Mar 2026, 11:34 PM
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England batter Ben Duckett has finally broken his silence on the viral late-night Noosa video that showed him speaking in a messed-up, slurry way during the mid-Ashes break on the Australia tour.
The clip instantly went viral, and England faced massive backlash for their attitude during the high-profile Test series, where they were already 2–0 down in Australia.
Ben Duckett opens up on Noosa Night that went viral
Months after the drama Down Under, Ben Duckett has now admitted that the moment was probably the worst of his life, but defended himself by saying that it wouldn’t have become a scandal if England were winning, but the timing made everything worse.
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Ben Duckett was quoted as saying by Daily Mail Sport, “It's not something any professional sportsman should be doing. 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.”
The opening batter further added, “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 favorite Christmas I’ve had in my life.”
'I did hold my hands up'
Duckett thanked the England management, including team director Rob Key, head coach Brendon McCullum, and captain Ben Stokes, for supporting him through the controversy.
However, the batter has accepted his mistake and tried to move forward, even though he still feels embarrassed about the whole episode. He said, “I did hold my hands up, but I’m not very proud of it.”
Ben Duckett reveals why he sacrificed IPL for county season
Ben Duckett has recently backed out of his £200,000 (around ₹2 crore) IPL contract with Delhi Capitals as he wants to play red-ball cricket for Nottinghamshire in April and May to secure his place as England’s Test opener.
His partner Zak Crawley is also under pressure after the poor Australia tour. The Englishman is not sure about his Test future; still, he turned down IPL money and the chance to play in the world’s biggest T20 league to work on his red-ball game to show his commitment.
Duckett signed off by saying, “Hopefully we’ll just see over time how much playing for England means for us. This is not why I’ve done it, but pulling out of the IPL, turning down a good chunk of money, and turning down an opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in the world to be here playing for Notts… I think that’s a good step in the right direction of how much playing cricket for England means to me personally.”
Recently, England reached the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2026, which was won by India later at home. Now, they are aiming for a strong comeback in the three-match Test series against New Zealand in June.
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