AGENCY
london, May 22
Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley established England’s dominance on the first day of their home international summer with a double-century opening stand, the hosts’ highest since 1960. Their pair were separated two runs short of their highest of 233, made at Rawalpindi in 2022, but with their team firmly in control.
Duckett scored his fifth Test hundred and first at his home ground while Crawley remains at the crease, unbeaten on 93, and in sight of a first century in almost two years. Ollie Pope, who joined him, is also on the brink of a milestone after racing to 49 off 46 balls and dominating the ongoing 64-run second-wicket stand. Throughout, England have scored at above 5.5 runs an over, which has presented Zimbabwe’s inexperienced attack with their biggest challenge to date.
If that wasn’t enough, Zimbabwe were also forced to operate without one of their four seamers after Richard Ngarava was driven off the field in a buggy, holding the side of his lower back. Ngarava was fielding on the boundary in the third over of the second session when he pulled up. The seriousness of his injury has yet to be determined or revealed. He had not bowled in the second session but opened proceedings earlier in the day and his nine overs cost 42 runs.
Ngarava’s absence left Zimbabwe’s sole spinner Sikandar Raza to hold an end while the remaining three quicks rotated from the other side. Resources aside, the visitors, all playing a Test in England for the first time, struggled to find consistency in batter-friendly conditions and may be left to regret captain Craig Ervine’s decision to bowl first. Ervine looked up at cloudy skies and not down, at a flat surface and fast outfield, and his attack were put to the sword.
England started in a slightly more circumspect manner than the Bazball mantra suggests but after six overs of sighters, their true colours came out. Crawley sliced Ngarava through point to break the early tension and Duckett joined in. He attacked Muzarabani off the front and back foot and then hit the shot of the morning when he pulled Ngarava off his eyebrows for a vicious boundary.
After 10 overs, Ervine made his first change and introduced Tanaka Chivanga but he struggled with his line and length in an opening over that cost 12. He adjusted well and found some swing soon after but the openers had bedded in. Duckett had a nervy moment when he miscued a drive off Chivanga into the off side but there was no fielder close enough to attempt a catch. He lashed the next ball over the slips and to the boundary to bring up a 14th career half-century, off 47 balls.
Crawley’s fifty came in Victor Nyauchi’s first over, when he whipped the ball through square leg and ran a comfortable two, and England went to lunch on 130 for 0. In the second over after the break, Zimbabwe thought they had some luck when Nyauchi, from around the wicket.
, thought he had found Duckett’s edge. It turned out to be a flick of his jumper. At the end of that over, Duckett edged Nyauchi between a wide slip and gully and moved into the 80s. He reverse-swept and cut Raza to enter the 90s and then worked him square for a single to bring up his century, off 100 balls.
Duckett kept Zimbabwe’s hopes of seeing the back of him alive when on 104, he popped Nyauchi a return chance but the ball fell short. For every chance he gave, Duckett only punished Zimbabwe more. A cut over cover point and a pull over deep backward square for the first six of the match followed and Duckett seemed unstoppable. With Duckett on 130 and Zimbabwe all but out of options, Wessly Madhevere was brought on and immediately hit for four through the covers and then launched over midwicket for six. Then, against the run of play, Duckett hit Madhevere straight to Ben Curran at cover and could not believe what he had done. He trudged off as Zimbabwe enjoyed their first smiles of the day, only to look up and see Pope.
In the first 18 balls he faced, Pope hit six fours, including sending Muzarabani over the cordon. While runs flowed for Pope, Crawley entered the 90s and both will eye milestones and more in the evening.
