England’s aggressive batter Ben Duckett wrote history by breaking the record of Sir Don Bradman’s for the quickest 150 runs on Friday against Ireland at Lords.
New Delhi: England’s aggressive batter Ben Duckett scripted history by breaking the record of Sir Don Bradman’s for the quickest 150 runs on Friday against Ireland at Lords.
At the conclusion of the day, Duckett (182) fell 18 runs short of reaching a double hundred, but his knock was still enough to break Bradman’s previous mark. The left-handed batsman not only broke the 93-year-old record, but Duckett also achieved a new milestone by being the first player to do so in a Lord’s Test since 1924.
The 28-year-old batsman had a memorable day as he scored his second Test century and first at home.
After the end of Day-2, Duckett said as quoted by Sky Sports, “A hundred at Lord’s is special. I know everyone says it, but it hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
“Batting with Ollie Pope was a breeze, really enjoyable to be at the other end watching him play”, he further added.
He continued by describing how difficult the path had been for him as he pursued a spot in England’s starting line-up.
“It has been a pretty crazy journey for me. I have only played (Tests) abroad, so even fielding here, soaking up the atmosphere, and then scoring a hundred is what I have dreamt of. I am so happy I managed to get there”, the 28-year-old said.
“[This summer] is only going to get harder, it’s going to be a tougher summer than this week. For me personally, runs is form and that’s what I’ve been trying to do at the start of the summer for Notts and taking it to here.),” Duckett concluded.
His performance offers a preview of the commanding performance the English hitters put on Friday.
Ben Duckett and Zack Crawley’s 109-run combination gave the hosts the perfect start. To offer Ireland some hope, Fionn Hand did put an end to their alliance.
Pope, though, carried on with his work and stitched a 252-run cooperation. Pope was at the top of his game, putting the ball across the boundary line, whenever he had the chance.
Pope’s passion was matched by Ben Duckett, who used his perfect technique to put the Irish bowlers under pressure. Pope went on to record his first double century, but Duckett was 18 runs short.
Duckett was dismissed by Graham Hume using the fresh ball. Following that, Joe Root and Pope built the framework for another enormous partnership that helped England reach a total of 507/2. Before the final session of Day 2, England appeared to be in the lead.
However, Andy McBrine gave the visitors a good start in the third session by taking Root’s wicket. Root left the game with a score of 56(59).
Pope was the next to arrive. The English hitter attempted to play a shot but utterly misplayed the ball and Lorcan Tucker handled the catch flawlessly behind the stumps to finish an outstanding Test knock. England made the decision to end their innings at 524/4.
(Written By- Utkarsh Rathour)