England's cricketers are steering clear of certain foods during their Ashes tour, with duck firmly off the menu for superstitious players worried about scoring nothing.
The touring squad won't touch anything shaped like a zero either, meaning onion rings and Polo mints are banned from their diets throughout the series.
It turns out the fear of jinxing their batting performances has the team avoiding these circular foods completely, believing there's a connection between what they eat and their scores at the crease.
The superstitions have taken hold across the squad, with players convinced that consuming duck could lead to the dreaded nought next to their name on the scoreboard.
England's camp are a deeply superstitious lot
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Former England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has lifted the lid on these peculiar eating habits, revealing that stars like captain Ben Stokes and batting maestro Joe Root religiously avoid the forbidden foods.
"It's given me the heebie-jeebies just thinking about Root having duck in Australia. It won't happen," Buttler admitted on the Love Cricket podcast.
The 36-year-old confessed that whilst the superstitions "obviously make no difference whatsoever," the mental impact is undeniable.
"It just gets so in your head," he explained, adding that he wouldn't even consider eating duck throughout an entire series.
Jos Buttler has admitted he is worried for England players in Australia
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Buttler cheekily suggested: "If you're an Australian chef, you'd put the duck special on for free."
Buttler shared his own memorable experience that converted him to the superstition during his first match at Lord's.
Despite initially dismissing the beliefs as nonsense, he decided to order the duck from the famous Lord's menu.
"I spent an hour worrying about getting a duck," he recalled, describing how the anxiety consumed him before batting.
His fears nearly came true - after finally getting off the mark, relief overwhelmed him and he was dismissed the very next delivery.
"From then on, I was never having duck again," Buttler confessed, admitting the incident permanently changed his pre-match dining choices.
England are in high spirits ahead of the first Test
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The first Test kicks off on Friday in Perth, with England hoping to secure their first series triumph in Australia since their victory in 2011.
Following the thrilling 2-2 stalemate in England during 2023, Stokes and his team are desperate to break their drought Down Under.
The tourists endured a miserable 4-0 defeat in their last Australian tour, setting an unwanted yearly record of 54 ducks in 2021.
Mitchell Starc set the tone early by bowling Rory Burns for a golden duck with the very first delivery of that series, and England's batsmen are determined to avoid similar disasters this time around.