Young gun claims unique awards double

Northamptonshire batsman Ben Duckett's breakthrough campaign saw him become the first player to be named Players' Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year in the same season by England's Professional Cricketers' Association on Wednesday.

The uncapped 21-year-old left-hander will travel with England to Bangladesh this week on his first full international tour after a prolific campaign in county cricket.

Duckett's excellence helped Northamptonshire win the Twenty20 Blast and he also amassed 1,338 runs in the County Championship Second Division.

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His season featured a host of highlights, including two unbeaten double-centuries: 282 in the Championship against Sussex in April, and 220 from just 131 balls for England Lions against Sri Lanka A in July.

The England selectors took note and have included him in their squads for both the one-day international and Test legs of the Bangladesh tour.

"I can't keep the smile off my face," said Duckett, who was also named Young Player of the Year by the Cricket Writers' Club a day earlier.

"I wasn't expecting this. To be nominated for both awards was an honour in itself – so to win them both is something very special.

"I got my England call-ups, and so many other things have happened.

"If someone had said at the start of the season that all this would happen I wouldn't have believed it.

"What makes the PCA awards so special is that you are voted for by your peers – people you play against vote for you, and that means a lot to me.

"Most of the guys who have won the awards in the past have played for England or in international cricket – so to follow them is a very great honour."

Quick Single: Full Bangladesh tour schedule

England are set to begin their tour on Friday, with Bangladesh authorities promising unprecedented security in a bid to prevent the country from becoming a no-go zone for international sport.

After their own security expert carried out an assessment in Bangladesh, the England and Wales Cricket Board decided to go ahead with a month-long tour that begins with three ODIs followed by two Test matches.

But while Alastair Cook will captain the Test team as normal, ODI skipper Eoin Morgan has decided not to travel on security grounds, handing over responsibility to Jos Buttler.

And even the Barmy Army, the diehard supporters' group which normally follows the team around the world, has held back from endorsing the trip, saying there is "too much risk attached to travelling to Bangladesh".

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The Bangladeshi board's chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury told AFP that "unprecedented security" measures have been promised by the law enforcement agencies during the England tour.

"We will take steps not only for the teams but we have also been given assurances by the police department that they will take special care for the supporters and the foreign media as well," Chowdhury said.

Bangladesh police also pledged to provide top-level security to the team, saying there was no reason to doubt their ability to do so.

"We are committed to provide the highest security to the visitors and we are capable of doing so," Dhaka police spokesman Masudur Rahman told AFP.