The first Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy concluded with a sensational comeback by England on the final day. The hosts chased down a challenging target with five wickets in hand, thanks to key contributions from Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, and Joe Root. Duckett was named Player of the Match for his outstanding scores of 62 in the first innings and 149 in the second.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan was full of praise for Duckett’s performance, going as far as calling him the best all-format batter in international cricket at the moment. Writing in his column for The Telegraph, Vaughan also pointed out that Duckett still does not get the recognition he truly deserves.
“At the heart of this win was Ben Duckett. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves in this team. Pound for pound, I reckon he is the best all-format batsman in international cricket right now. There may be players who are better at one of the formats, but none of them are as good at all three. Others in the conversation would be Travis Head or Aiden Markram, but on current form I’d have Ben over them, especially as he does it in such a tough position, opening, across all formats,” Vaughan wrote.
“We’ve shown maturity throughout the day” – Ben Duckett
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Duckett shared insights on the mindset in the England dressing room heading into the final day of the Test. He said the team believed in their ability to chase down the total if they could bat through the day.
“To go into day 5, finish like we did was incredible. Wanted to get through last evening without losing wickets. It was clear this morning – if we batted through, we’d get home. 2022 was mentioned, I wasn’t there. Guys in the dressing room believe. We’ve shown maturity throughout the day and shown how much it means to win,” he said.
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