'I started running' - how fitter Duckett got back to his best

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Highlights: Stokes and Duckett lead England fightback on day two By Stephan Shemilt Cricket Correspondent at Trent Bridge Published 56 minutes ago This time last year Ben Duckett had a legitimate claim to be the best multi-format opener in the world. The left-hander had just led England to victory in the first Test against India at Headingley with a majestic 149 in a canter to a target of 371. England had won the first of what they wanted to be a defining period of 10 Tests, and Duckett was at the forefront of their hopes of winning the series against India, then going on to regain the Ashes in Australia. Duckett would have to wait more than 12 months for his next Test century. In that time, England fell apart and the 31-year-old's career was almost derailed. An Ashes average of 20 formed part of a run of 14 Test innings without a half-century. The nadir of Duckett's trip to Australia was the footage that appeared online of him apparently drunk in Noosa, not knowing how to get to the team hotel and being asked if he needed an "Uber to the nets, bro". He was then benched for England's run to the T20 World Cup semi-finals in the spring. As the home summer began and an England reset got under way, Duckett's Test place was probably not in danger - he had more credit in the bank than opening partner Zak Crawley, who did carry the can. Duckett wanted to make sure. He pulled out of a stint with Delhi Capitals in what would have been his first taste of the Indian Premier League, probably ensuring he will never get to experience the world's biggest franchise tournament. Instead, he returned to county cricket with Nottinghamshire to make professionalism his priority. On a sweltering Friday back at his home ground, Duckett reaped the rewards with a swashbuckling century to keep England in their deciding third Test against New Zealand. "It wasn't loads of work on my game, I've tweaked a few things here and there, but I've certainly been doing a lot of fitness work since I got back from the winter," he said. Duckett & Stokes haul England back into third Test Published 3 hours ago Duckett century sparks England fightback Maintaining - or not maintaining - his fitness has been a recurring theme in Duckett's career. As a youngster, he twice missed out on tours for failing to meet conditioning standards - once with England Under-19s in 2013, then a Northants pre-season trip in 2015. This time, with a Test career on the line, he has worked with England fitness coach Pete Sim and Nottinghamshire counterpart Zac Bess to lose "five or six" kilograms. Duckett added: "I started running, which was good! "I had a four-week block when I got back from the winter where I didn't necessarily hit many balls. "It's just really important now that I use that hard work that I've done and maintain it. "It's something I've really enjoyed and it's been great for my mental sp