Ben Duckett is England's new 'iceman' after ODI series win over Bangladesh
Thursday 13 October 2016 10:06, UK
Ben Duckett's coolness at the crease as he helped England to a 2-1 series win over Bangladesh was reminiscent of 'a young Eoin Morgan', says Nasser Hussain.
Duckett struck his second 50 in three matches on Wednesday as the tourists completed a four-wicket victory in Chittagong, Sam Billings also impressing with 62 as England reached their target of 278 in 47.5 overs.
Former captain Hussain told Sky Sports the win bodes well for England's future fortunes.
"The young lads that have come in have been exceptional, starting with Jake Ball taking those five wickets on debut," he reflected.
"Then today, we've seen Duckett and Billings perform. These guys have been talked about but once they're in the side, all eyes are on them.
Live Test Cricket
"They've been brilliant. Duckett has hit two sixties in three games while Billings, in a one-off knock batting in a position where he's batted once in the last three years, looked a natural.
"Sometimes we overplay our lads; I think on this occasion, we've been keeping them waiting a little bit too long. They are superb players.
"Billings is a very talented young man but I'll give Duckett a special mention; when he was at the crease, he was cool - he was a young Morgan. He was what we saw when Morgan first came into the side - 'the iceman', cool, calm, tough."
England emerged as series victors despite the absence of captain Eoin Morgan, as well as openers Jason Roy and Alex Hales, and number three Joe Root.
Hussain expects all four to be firmly in the frame to return for the upcoming tour of India, which follows the two-Test series against Bangladesh, but said that the increased competition for places can only drive the squad on to greater feats.
"For me, the driving force behind how this team has turned around has been Eoin Morgan and he has got enough in the bank for him to come back," he said.
"No one will ever convince me that it was right for the England captain not to be here on this difficult tour.
"He will know that when that first ball goes down in India, that there is a captain who can replace him, because Jos Buttler has been brilliant in everything that he's done, and batsmen in Duckett and Billings who can easily come in and replace him.
"England are in a pretty nice situation in terms of selection. There will be natural gaps and injuries, or conditions where you want different types of players, and it will keep everyone on their toes.
"Bangladesh aren't easy to beat in these conditions and they were missing three or four of their star players; for them to have stuck together as a team in the way they have in front of big, partisan crowds in alien conditions has been really good.
"It's been a really good series, actually; the games have been tight, and playing on sticky pitches in the last three games has been a great learning curve for this side. It's in the memory bank now and the players can store that up so that if conditions do change, they can adapt quickly."
Watch Bangladesh take on England in the first Test - live on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports Mix from Thursday, October 20. Upgrade now and enjoy six months at half price!
