England have stalwart Phil Salt in their first T20 match against India on Wednesday, with the busy left-hander backing Ben Duckett as the opener in all formats.
Duckett has been a tone-setter for England in Tests over the past few years and established himself in the ODI side with a string of eye-catching performances against Australia late last summer.
Duckett has 12 T20 caps but has not featured for England since making his debut in 2019. However, a vacancy was created with Jos Buttler retaining his place at number three and Will Jacks being left out of the squad.
Duckett may lack explosiveness, but he shows intent with his agile 360-degree stroke play and deft sweep play, and the left-hander could be England’s answer to Australia’s David Warner in the future.
Duckett’s Abilities
“I think he’s playing great in all forms of the game,” England captain Buttler said of the 30-year-old.
“Now in England cricket, when you look at someone who can open the innings in all formats of the game, it is a credit to the way he has played over the last few years and he fully deserves the opportunity.
“He has a great reputation for spin, but he has much more options in the powerplay. With only two defenders, he is an incredibly tough player to defend, utilizing all the different areas he can hit the ball into.
“I think this will suit his game really well and we’re all really excited about it.”
With Buttler determined to continue pulling the strings in the outfield against the West Indies before Christmas, Salt edged out Jamie Smith for the wicketkeeper’s job in England’s first T20 at Eden Gardens since suffering a painful defeat in the 2016 World Twenty20 final. . West Indies.
fixtures
- 1st T20, Kolkata, January 22
- 2nd T20, Chennai, January 25
- 3rd T20, Rajkot, January 28
- 4th T20, Pune, January 31
- 5th T20, Mumbai, February 2
It also marks the official start of Brendon McCullum’s tenure as England manager across all formats. At the time of his appointment last year, McCullum said Buttler had “looked a little miserable at times” during England’s withdrawal from both white-ball World Cups in the past 18 months.
But the opportunity to work with McCullum, the former New Zealand captain who revolutionized England’s Test team, is one that Buttler is excited about.
“I’m practicing smiling in the mirror,” Butler joked. “Some of the Christmas presents may have been overblown like that, but it feels really good. I’m excited.
“I was a fan of Brendon McCullum as a player and always loved playing with him. I have a lot of respect for what he did in New Zealand.
“He is really good mates with Eoin Morgan (former England captain), who is one of my good friends. So I got to know him through him and I got to know him through the various franchise tournaments that we both participated in at the same time.
“This is a strong relationship and I am really excited to develop the relationship between a professional coach and captain. I’m really energized and I’ve been looking forward to this moment ever since it was mentioned that Baz could also be a white-ball coach.”
bar’s ball
McCullum will look to bring in his philosophy, dubbed ‘Bazball’, to improve England’s ailing limited-overs side and will use his four true quicks in Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Jamie Overton and Gus Atkinson to attack India.
Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell will complement frontline spinner Adil Rashid, while Harry Brook will deputize for Buttler, who led England to a 3-2 ODI series loss to Australia last year.
Buttler added of the Yorkshireman: “He has all the qualities it takes to be a skipper.” “He is someone I turn to for advice on the ground and to get his perspective.
“Obviously, watching Harry captain the side against Australia and the way he played his cricket, he was the most positive captain I have ever seen.
“We want to be a really interesting team to watch, a really exciting team and an aggressive team that wants to dominate the game.”
Read more: Brendon McCullum – No cotton treatment for Mark Wood and Jofra Archer
