Ben Duckett in contention for a England call-up for Bangladesh series
If Northamptonshire coach David Ripley’s words are to be believed, the county’s star opener Ben Duckett could well find himself on his way to Bangladesh with the England national side ,that will be touring the country for a short tour of three ODIs and two Test matches.
Ripley, a former England cricketer, who played his entire county cricket for Northamptonshire before picking up the coaching reins at the club in 2012, revealed that he has been in constant touch with several national selectors, particularly James Whitaker, regarding Duckett’s prospects for England.
The 21-year-old left-hander has been excellent this season, scoring 1,043 runs in the County Championship at an average of 54.89. His one-day average of 63.28 and T20 average 43.36 proves that he is a superb fit for all formats of the game.
"I'm having some good communication with (England selector) James Whitaker and England about how they are viewing him and how close he is," Ripley spoke to the BBC regarding Duckett's prospects of an international call-up. "We know England have got a good white-ball group of players and Ben's certainly knocking on the door."
England have played well in limited-overs cricket, since their disastrous 2015 World Cup campaign, with their recent 4-1 drubbing of Pakistan in the 5-match ODI series an indication of the threat posed by Eoin Morgan’s side in 50-over and 20-over cricket.
While the batting department is currently well covered, spots could still open up, as many players could pull out due to the security situation in Bangladesh.
While the ECB’s security delegation has given the go-ahead for the tour, which had been in doubt ever since the terrorist attack on an upscale restaurant in Dhaka in July, most of the players are yet to confirm whether they will be taking part or not.
Moeen Ali recently became the first England cricketer to state publically that he doesn’t have any apprehensions about the Bangladesh tour, Liam Plunkett had said that he needed more time before taking a call on the matter.
Another reason why Ripley believes Duckett could get a look-in is because of his ability to play spin, which could be a crucial factor in the slow pitches expected to greet the players in Bangladesh.
"They're going to a place where spin is going to play a large part. Could they take a little punt on Ben? No one's really grasped some of those spots in the batting order so who knows?", Ripley said and ended by saying, "I'm sure he'll get in white-ball cricket before too long. Test cricket, we'll have to wait and see."