JAMES ANDERSON: DUCKETT INCIDENT A 'NON-EVENT'

“The players have moved on already"

James Anderson has described the incident with Ben Duckett as a ‘non-event’ but accepts in the current climate the players need to ‘be smarter’.

Duckett has been suspended from playing on the England Lions tour, fined the maximum ‘allowable for an England Lions player’ and issued with a final written warning regarding his conduct.

England's leading Test wicket-taker has broken his silence on the episode.

Writing in his The Telegraph column, Anderson said: “The incident with Ben Duckett was not malicious and was a bit of a non-event but we understand that in this climate we have to be smarter in the future.

“The frustrating thing is that what was a pretty silly incident would have gone unnoticed before but now puts an unfair question mark over our culture."

Anderson acknowledged that it will offer Australia yet another topic of sledging but insists that won’t affect England and the team are focussed on winning.

“I know Australia will use the Duckett incident as a way of goading us, or taking the mickey. Fine. It will probably be funnier than what they have spouted at me so far in this series. 

“The players have moved on already. Our main focus is getting back in the series. That is all everyone is talking about.”

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