England cricket star Ben Duckett has been fined £700 after being caught driving 93mph in a 70mph zone.
Duckett, who opens the batting for England in both Test matches and limited-overs games, pleaded guilty on Friday after being caught by a police speed gun on the A50 near Stoke in August.
The 31-year-old man was pictured at the wheel of his Land Rover.
Duckett withdrew from the Indian Premier League (IPL) last week in the hope of recovering from poor form before England’s Test series against New Zealand begins in June.
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As well as reneging on a £200,000 contract with Delhi Capitals, he also apologized for past actions, particularly the incident when he was filmed getting drunk one night in Noosa, Australia, in the middle of the Ashes.
After pleading guilty at Cannock Magistrates’ Court, he was fined £700, had four penalty points imposed on his licence, and ordered to pay £120 costs and a £280 victim surcharge.
The high-speed incident occurred just after 1.30pm on 24 August, just hours before Duckett played a key role in Birmingham Phoenix Hundred’s victory over Manchester Originals at Old Trafford.
Duckett pleaded guilty to speeding in September after being written up by Staffordshire Police.
He then pleaded guilty through a single justice process when the force decided to pursue criminal prosecution instead of imposing a fine out of court for speeding.
Ben Duckett in action on the first day of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham in 2023. Photo: Reuters
This is not Duckett’s first encounter with the criminal courts.
As a rising star in 2015, he was prosecuted for drink-driving after crashing his car into a ditch in Northamptonshire, resulting in a 12-month road ban.
Duckett was first selected for England’s Test team in 2016, but he came into controversy the following year when he allegedly poured a drink on bowler James Anderson’s head during a night out.
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He became a key player as an opening batsman for England from 2022 onwards, adapting well to the team’s “buzzball” style, which he described as a “ridiculously huge decline” in his form during the previous year.
Duckett’s speedy prosecution was settled behind closed doors last Friday without a formal court hearing.
The cricketer entered his guilty plea online and will now be written to with instructions to settle the £1,100 court bill.
