Duckett looks perfect in England's ODI top order, says Atherton

New Delhi, Sep 30 (IANS) Former England captain Michael Atherton believes Ben Duckett is a perfect fit at the top order in ODIs, especially after he hit a century against Australia in Bristol. His efforts, though, weren’t enough for England to avoid a 3-2 series defeat, as Australia were handed a 49-run victory via DLS method.

Left-handed opener Duckett’s ton at Bristol took his tally of runs across the five ODIs to 305, thus making his case strong for being given a consistent run in the format. "Ben Duckett looks just about right at the top of the order and it will be very interesting to see who opens with him.

"It is easy to say in hindsight, but what clearly happened is that the selectors showed too much faith in the World Cup-winning side of 2019. So, when Duckett came into the Test side, he did very well at the start of Bazball, I was very surprised he wasn't then the first choice for ODI."

"England then stuck with the tried and tested for a while. He just looks perfect at the top of the order for me," said Atherton to Sky Sports Cricket at the conclusion of the series.

He also felt there are positives for England to build upon for future ODI assignments, especially after coming from 2-0 behind against Australia. "They have done well to come back from 2-0 down given the side they are playing against who are almost at full strength."

"They were two quite heavy defeats, England looked very much second best in those two games. It took some character and resilience. They will take some pluses from the series," added Atherton.

Atheron signed off by saying it would be interesting to see what would be England’s make-up when big names return to the ODI side. "With the players to come back in, I don't know if that will be Phil Salt. There are some options there. "

"Jacks has shown flashes, but with the likes of (Ben) Stokes, (Jos)Buttler and (Joe) Root to come back, it is going to be very competitive in that top order. (Liam) Livingstone coming back to some kind of form after been originally being omitted from the ODI squad.

"(Brydon) Carse has been promising. He could perform that Liam Plunkett role in the middle overs. It has been a highly competitive series and England have introduced some players. Although they are not the youngest side they don't have much experience."

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