Ben Duckett admits that the Vitality Blast competition has been kind to him. The 24-year old heads to Edgbaston this weekend to take part in his fourth Finals Day.
“It’s been a pretty lucky competition for me,” said the Notts Outlaws batsman.
“I know that there are many players who don’t get the opportunity to go to big days like that, so it’s something I’ll enjoy and look forward to.”
Duckett was twice a winner with his previous county Northants Steelbacks and also lost in another final. His first experience was a bit of a surprise though.
“In 2013 I wasn’t expecting to be involved but Kyle Coetzer was injured in the semi-final. I only had a few minutes to let the family know I was going to play in the final but it all went smoothly and I wasn’t needed to bat.”
Two years later he experienced the heartbreak of defeat to Lancashire in the final but his second winner’s medal came in 2016 and has been a hot topic in the Trent Bridge dressing room this season.
Duckett played a match-winning innings of 84 to defeat Notts in the first semi-final that year.
“Obviously that was a very good day for me,” he reflected. “And we’ve talked about it a few times since I moved to Notts. It was nice to be able to contribute that year and put in a performance to get my side into the final and if I could do it again with Notts that would be amazing.”
The England international is pretty sure that Notts are peaking at the right time, after an indifferent qualifying campaign.
“It’s been a strange competition,” he said. “We’ve had four matches rained off, that’s more than I can ever remember in the past.
“I think at times we were pretty average in the group stages but that shows how good we are to still come second in the group and get the home quarter-final.
“Then we put in the complete performance against Middlesex and feel we are in a good place going into Saturday.”
The left-handed, top-order batsman is looking forward to playing Worcestershire in the first match on Finals Day, even though the Rapids had the better of their only meeting with the Outlaws at the start of the group stage.
“It seems ages since we played Worcestershire,” said Duckett. “We weren’t at our best that day and we have improved a lot since then but it doesn’t matter who you play on Finals Day. If a couple of guys come off then that side will probably win. Anything that happened in the past is irrelevant now.”
An early start on Saturday is perfect, according to the former Steelback. “I’ve always enjoyed playing in that first semi-final and then you can get away for a couple of hours,” he said.
“You can get back to the hotel or just stay and relax at the ground and watch. It’s nice to have a couple of hours off.”
He added: “For the team that wins the second semi-final, it almost looks a bit rushed to me. They finish the game and then they’re back out there and have to go again.”
Duckett scored a century in the championship match at Edgbaston this summer and is again looking forward to testing his skills at the ground.
“Normally it’s a very good wicket at Edgbaston and I’m sure it’ll be the same for Finals Day. I enjoy the first semi-final, when the pitch is fresh and at its best,” he said.
“They normally try and produce a belter of a surface. The good thing about our side is we’ve got everything covered. We bat deep and if for some reason the wicket is a bit dry and a bit slow, we’ve got the spinners to counter that.”
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