Travis Head has revealed he sent a message of support to his Ashes rival Ben Duckett after the England batter found himself on the end of a social media backlash.
Unverified footage appearing to show an intoxicated Duckett in a tetchy late-night conversation with a fan during the team’s mid-series break in Noosa placed an unwanted spotlight on the opener.
Hours earlier, the England managing director, Rob Key, had called excessive drinking “completely unacceptable” and said he would be investigating reports of what happened on the trip.
The England captain, Ben Stokes, publicly backed Duckett and called for “empathy” in an emotive press conference before the fourth Ashes Test. Head said he felt compelled to check in with an opponent with whom he has got on well ever since their time facing each other as Under-19s.
“I get along with Ducky well, I reached out to him to see if he was going alright,” he told reporters at the MCG after England’s two-day win in the fourth Test.
“Everyone is still human. What you do in personal time is up to you. I know we live a high-profile life and some people are more high-profile … but at the end of the day it was a bit stiff [unfair]. Everyone made a lot more out of it that there should have been. It [the video] was from one of his own as well, I reckon it was an England fan.
“I don’t think it was any real issue,” the Australia batter added. “When there’s big gaps in Tests, people have got to find something to talk about. Hopefully we can play a bit longer next week and there’s less stuff to talk about.”
Duckett was dismissed for two on day one in Melbourne but made 34 important runs in their winning chase of 175. Posting a picture of himself clapping the travelling England fans online, he wrote: “Amazing end to a pretty tough week.”
