Duckett sweeps aside India to underline rare talents

India 471 and 364; England 465 and 373-5. England won by five wickets and lead the series 1-0.

- CAMERON PONSONBY

Ben Duckett reverse swept once, twice, three times. And eventually 12.

A modern man, conquering the most traditional role in Test cricket opening the batting - in the least traditional of ways.

With that shot alone, he made 31 runs. In total, he made 149 as he guided England to their second-highest run chase in history.

Duckett, whose highest score remains 182 against Ireland in 2023, has quietly, and consistently, built a record that places him in the upper echelons of England's greatest openers. In a batting line-up where Joe Root and Ben Stokes's legends are already made, where Harry Brook is the next generational talent elect, where Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope spend their lives under a microscope, Duckett's consistency at the top of the order has gone, if not unnoticed, underappreciated.

Since his return to the Test side in 2022, he has averaged 47 with a strike rate of 88. In terms of average, it is higher than either Alastair Cook or Andrew Strauss managed. The last two men to nail the role of opener in an England shirt both ended up taking one knee in front of the Queen, knighted for their efforts.

As a strike rate, it is higher than Virender Sehwag's. The man widely considered to be the greatest aggressive opener in history.

In 2025, it may seem too early, hyperbolic even, to put Duckett's name in the same bracket as the greats. But continue as he has been since his return to the side, and by 2035 it'll have been there for years.