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Duckett’s impetus set to tip the balance at start of subcontinent challenge
- Updated: October 19, 2016
Ben Duckett is set to become Alastair Cook’s ninth opening partner since the retirement of Andrew Strauss when the Test series against Bangladesh begins in Chittagong on Thursday.
Duckett, who has recorded four half-centuries from his most recent five innings on the tour, has been favoured over Haseeb Hameed, with Gary Ballance expected to retain his place in the middle-order – he will probably bat at No. 4 – and offspinner Gareth Batty returning for his first Test since June 2005.
Cook confirmed that England will field three seamers (Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes) and three spinners (Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Batty). It is interesting to speculate on which of the seamers might have missed out had James Anderson, or even Mark Wood, been available. Or perhaps the balance of the side would have been different. The pitch looked surprisingly green on Wednesday evening but all the predictions are for a heartbreaker for seamers.
While Hameed remains highly rated by the England team management, they have been impressed by Duckett’s form and his naturally positive approach to batting. With batting against the new ball offering perhaps the best chance for relatively free-scoring, the management have decided they might be missing an opportunity if Cook was partnered by the equally patient Hameed. And with the decision made to open with Duckett, rather than bat him at No. 4, if left Hameed, who is seen as a specialist opener, with little opportunity.
Hameed could be in for a long few weeks now. While the talk is of everyone in the squad winning an opportunity at one stage or another before Christmas – and it is true that the ferociously hot and humid conditions will test even these impressively fit cricketers – it is not hard to see a scenario where he misses out. England’s selection policy over recent times has been to give players ample opportunity to find their feet at this level and Duckett, likes Alex Hales and Alex Lyth and Sam Robson before him, can reasonably expected to retain his place well into the India series.
The case for Duckett is close to irrefutable. After a prolific season in List A and first-class cricket, he became the first man to win both the PCA’s players’ player of the year and their young player of the year award in …
