U-19 Tri-Nation Tournament 2013: Ben Duckett Will Lead England to Success

It often seems strange to talk about great levels of experience in reference to U-19 teams. In the case of England captain Ben Duckett, however, it's totally appropriate. Duckett has both international and first-team county experience that makes him the perfect choice to inspire the team to success against Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Duckett captained the side in the recent ODIs against South Africa and also played in the ICC U-19 World Cup last year. Although England lost all the ODIs in South Africa, the experience will serve Duckett well. He top-scored in the first game with 51, but struggled for runs in the others. Although this doesn't bode well for the Tri-Nation Tournament, his knowledge of international competitions will enable him to captain the side effectively.

When speaking to ECB.co.uk, Duckett was quick to state how much of a positive experience the World Cup and tour of South Africa was:

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The World Cup was fairly successful—not as successful as we'd have liked—then I went away to South Africa in the winter and captained in the ODI series, which we did lose, but there were a lot of learnings we took from that. I think you can learn more from losing than winning so we've took that on board and we're confident going into this series.

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Duckett's career is also taking off at Northamptonshire, where he made his first-class debut in May and hit 53 in the second innings. He'll be able to guide younger players in the England side like Matthew Fisher, whose talent has seen him force his way into the national setup for the first time as well as becoming the youngest player ever to play county cricket.

At 15, he is already a great prospect, despite seeming incapable of taking a wicket in performances for Yorkshire recently. From his position behind the stumps, Duckett is perfectly placed to get him back into form before the end of the tournament—although his captain recently stated that he's one of the loudest members of the team, despite his age.

However, it's with the bat that Duckett must make his mark. We've seen it in the Ashes already; when Alastair Cook gets out cheaply, England look a little lost and often struggle to build a big score. Although he's not an opening batsman in the same mould as Cook, Duckett can lead by example in a similar manner and bat the opposition out of the game.

He's a good hitter who is capable of changing the outcome of any game in which he plays. It's his final year of eligibility at this level, so he will be keen to make this a good tournament. He's got the players, the experience and the talent to do exactly that.