 "Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett put England in the driver's seat on Day 2 of the fourth Test against India with a 166-run opening partnership. AP")
England go into day three at Old Trafford firmly on the front foot, 225/2 they trail by only 133 and with a lengthy batting lineup to come they’ll have high hopes of building a healthy first innings lead.
When they arrived on Day 2 with India 264/4 and Rishabh Pant seemingly ruled out of proceedings , they would have had been optimistic of pressing home their advantage with a cheap wrapping up of the tourists’ innings.
In fact none of that occurred, against all odds Pant hobbled out after the loss of the second wicket and turned his overnight score into a 19th Test match 50, and India’s tail wagged effectively and efficiently to post a more than reputable 358 all out.
Even in the face of Ben Stokes’ first five wicket haul since 2017, and their final three wickets adding just nine runs between them, India’s phalanx of all-rounders provided stiff enough resistance to put England somewhat on the back foot at the start of their innings.
It was not a position they occupied for long.
The most productive openers since Strauss and Trescothick
England’s opening partnership is very much one of two contrasting halves. One left hander, one right, one tall, one short, one firmly established as one of his team’s best players, the other constantly having his position called into question by critics.
However for all the opprobrium Zak Crawley has drawn, he and Duckett have quietly – if that word isn’t in contradiction to the swaggering style in which they play – been establishing themselves as a very solid opening partnership for England.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe pair now average 45.55 together, their stand of 166 today the fifth century partnership they have put on together, not since the heady days of Andrew Strauss and Marcus Trescothick have England had such a productive duo at the top of the order. Of opening partnerships to bat more than 20 innings together, their average together is now ninth in England’s all-time list.
Speaking after the day’s play, Crawley was self-deprecating about what makes their partnership work: “I like how good he is,” he said. “He’s a phenomenal player and he takes a lot of pressure off me. It allows you to go about your business.”
Crawley and Duckett capitalise on India’s poor bowling
India were poor early on with the new ball, struggling to find either a consistent line or length and finished with only Jasprit Bumrah managing to register an economy rate of less than 4.8 an over. Something Crawley thinks could be exacerbated by the contrasting physicalities of England’s opening pair.
“Our height difference and being left-right hand probably makes it hard for the bowlers when we’re going well at both ends,” he said. “I love batting with him and hopefully that continues.
“One of my strengths is I can hit quite good balls for four with my height and reach, I feel like I hadn’t allowed that to come out quite as much as late. This game I just wanted to react and play every ball on its merits.”
Ultimately both men would fall agonisingly short of well-deserved hundreds, Crawley on 84 and Duckett 94, and Joe Root and Ollie Pope did well to see off an improvement in bowling from India and take England into the close without further loss of wicket.
England though will go to bed extremely satisfied with the position in which they sit, a position reached on the backs of their underratedly excellent opening partnership.