Ben Stokes reveals fiery batter may leave team during 2nd Test against West Indies, says 'There is a plan in place...'

England’s attacking opener Ben Duckett may leave the team midway trough the second Test against West Indies at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. England captain Ben Stokes confirmed that Duckett is awaiting the birth of his first child with fiancee Paige. Stokes also has a contingency plan in place in case Duckett has to leave before the toss as Dan Lawrence has been kept on standby.
 

"There is a plan in place for Ben and his partner," Stokes said at the pre-match press conference on July 17. "We will have to make a decision if it happens before the game and we are batting. If it happens during the Test, Ben will go and then return to the team. He is incredibly eager to play this Test match, but the message from me and Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum) is that family comes first. Whatever decision he makes, he has our full support."
 

When Lawrence played his last Test

Lawrence hasn't played a Test since March 2022. Coincidentally, his last Test appearance was against West Indies. He registered a single-digit score followed by a duck as England suffered batting collapse and lost to Kraigg Brathwaite-led West Indies by 10 wickets.

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On the other hand, Duckett did not make an impact with the bat in the first Test at Lord's, London which marked the end of legendary James Anderson's Test career. The left-handed batter scored just three runs from 13 balls. He took two catches in West Indies' second innings as England won by an innings and 114 runs.

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Stokes reveals Anderson’s replacement with new ball

Stokes, in the press conference, also confirmed that Gus Atkinson who bagged a record-breaking 12-wicket haul on his Test debut will share the new ball with Chris Woakes instead of Mark Wood.
 

"I said last week that when I first saw Gus live in the World Cup in India, he had all the attributes of a very, very good bowler," Stokes said. "A lot of it has to do with the Dukes ball and how it behaves. There hasn't been much movement in the air with the new ball; it's generally off the surface, hitting the seam, and Gus is very good at that."
 

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