- Ben Duckett’s partner Paige could give birth to their first child during the Test
- Ben Stokes’ first Test as captain came after Joe Root was forced to pull out early
- Joe Denly made a Test-best 94 after missing an Ashes Test session back in 2019
England opener Ben Duckett could miss part of the second Test against West Indies at his home ground of Trent Bridge to be at the birth of his first child.
Duckett, 29, has been given the blessing of captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum to leave the match if his partner Paige goes into labour – opening the possibility of him being ‘retired out’ should he be at the crease at the end of a session or a day’s play.
‘We’ll just have to make a decision if it was to happen before the game started,’ said Stokes.
‘If anything happens throughout the Test match, Ben will just go and come back into the team.
‘He’s obviously desperate to play at his home ground but the message from me and Baz is family always comes first.’
Ben Duckett could be forced to leave the second Test early to be with his partner Paige for the birth of their first child
Duckett has been given the blessing of captain Ben Stokes (pictured) and coach Brendon McCullum
Surrey’s Dan Lawrence is the standby batsman in the squad, but would only be available to replace Duckett in the XI before the morning’s toss.
By the laws of the game, once play has started, substitutes are permitted solely for incidents of concussion – meaning England potentially face batting with 10 men for an innings dependent on length of absence.
It is not the first time an England cricketer has been faced with this kind of stay-or-go conundrum during a home Test.
Indeed, Stokes owed his debut as Test captain to Joe Root opting to be present for the arrival of his daughter Isabella during the Covid summer of 2020 – a defeat to the Windies in Southampton.
Michael Vaughan was also faced with an unmissable delivery while captaining his country, temporarily quitting the Headingley Test win over New Zealand in 2004 to be alongside wife Nichola in welcoming Tallulah Grace to the world.
Vaughan exited the field with an hour’s play remaining on day two, handing over to vice-captain Marcus Trescothick and dashing down the M1 to Sheffield in what was the first occurrence of an England cricketer leaving a game in such circumstances.
Former batter Joe Denly made a Test-best 94 back in the 2019 Ashes after missing a morning session for the birth of his child
He returned next morning a dad and was permitted to bat in his usual position of no 4, despite his absence, as match referee Clive Lloyd said his situation was ‘very exceptional’.
Joe Denly missed a morning session of an Ashes match at the Oval in 2019 for the same reason, following up with a Test-best 94 next day.
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