Ben won’t duck huge chance
BIRTHDAY boy Ben Duckett is still pinching himself after a “crazy” few months that looks set to culminate in a Test debut against Bangladesh on Thursday.
Duckett, who turned 22 yesterday, is on a golden run, having plundered 2,706 runs across all formats last summer and four halfcenturies in five innings so far on this tour.
The latest came on the last day of England’s final warm-up match before the first Test, with the Northamptonshire batsman scoring 60 against a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI here before retiring his innings at lunch.
It was another statement of intent from Duckett, who scored 60 and 63 in his first three international innings to help England win the recent one-day series against Bangladesh.
Duckett’s form this year has been so exceptional that his success in the limited time he has been with England is no surprise. In the summer he averaged 60.82 in the County Championship, 43.36 in the NatWest T20 Blast, and 63.28 in List A cricket.
He also produced some outstanding one-day innings for England Lions, making an unbeaten 163 on debut against Pakistan A before rewriting the record books with a phenomenal 220 from 131 balls against Sri Lanka. It was the highest score in history by a Lions player.
Now he looks set to make the step up to Test level after a year that even he admits has been beyond all expectations.
“It’s been a crazy few months,” said Duckett. “I’ve really enjoyed my cricket this summer. Everything has clicked for me and to be out here now is the cherry on top.
“I’m feeling confident so if I was to play in the first Test I do feel like I’m ready.
“There’s always going to be a few nerves playing in your Test debut but for me I’d just be very excited to get out there.”
In the absence of captain Alastair Cook, who returned home to attend the birth of his second child, Duckett opened with Haseeb Hameed in the two tour matches. That is the position he NEW BOYS: Ben Duckett and Haseeb Hameed, above, look set to make their Test debuts for England has batted in for Northants all summer. However, with Hameed looking favourite to become Cook’s latest opening partner, Duckett looks likely to be handed his chance at No 4, beating competition from Gary Ballance to fill the position vacated by James Vince after his tortuous Test summer.
Hameed also retired not out yesterday after scoring a halfcentury, the 19-year-old taking 114 balls to reach that landmark. The Lancashire opener is set to become the first teenager to represent England since Ben Hollioake in 1997 and Cook’s ninth opening partner in the four years since Andrew Strauss’s retirement in 2012.
Cook, who spent 10 days acclimatising to conditions in Bangladesh at the start of the tour, landed back in Chittagong yesterday after his wife Alice gave birth to a girl over the weekend. “It’s great for English cricket that he has managed to come back because he is a quality player and to potentially have the chance to open the batting with him would be crazy,” said Duckett.
Joe Root, who was rested for the one-day series here, scored 24 yesterday while Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow – who will make up the rest of England’s top seven for the first Test – were also dismissed cheaply as England were bowled out for 256 in reply to the BCB XI’s 294. The two-day match was drawn.