Duckett misses out; Morgan, Hales return

Ben Duckett was “desperately unlucky” to be squeezed out of the England ODI squad by the return of Eoin Morgan, Alex Hales and Joe Root, according to the coach, Trevor Bayliss.

Duckett batted at No. 3 in Bangladesh and scored two half-centuries in three innings. But although Bayliss said he had “shot up the pecking order” the selectors eventually decided to stick with the squad that has served England well for the majority of the last 18 months. England have won nine of their 12 most recent ODIs.

There was, according to Bayliss, never any doubt that Morgan would return as captain. Though the England management were disappointed that he and Hales elected not to go to Bangladesh due to their security fears, the ECB had specified months ago that those who skipped the tour would not be punished for doing so.

Root, who was rested from the limited-overs section of the Bangladesh tour, is also back and set to reclaim his spot at No. 3, despite expecting the birth of his first child a few days before England return to India in January. The combination of those factors meant no room for Duckett.

“There was a lot of discussion around Duckett,” Bayliss said. “It was the toughest decision and the one we spoke about the most. He did well in Bangladesh and if we had left someone else out they would have been desperately unlucky as well. We thought that Duckett has done himself no harm. He has shot up the pecking order and he is right there or thereabouts.

“At this stage he is more suited to white-ball cricket and he showed he had what it takes in Bangladesh. There were a couple of innings there that were class. He has done well for himself but we thought we would show a bit of solidarity with the team we have had and done so well in last 12-18 months.”

James Vince, who scored 53 runs in three ODIs in Bangladesh, has also been dropped, as was Steven Finn, who was a member of the squad but did not …

continue reading in source www.espncricinfo.com