Crawley 122, Duckett 107 guide England to strong start against Pakistan in first test
Bazz-ball in full flow in Pakistan.
The long-awaited search for an opening pair for England might have been put to rest today as Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley notched up tons on the first day of the test match.
The England team led by Ben Stokes is playing the first Test on Pakistani soil in 17 years. There was some concern about the match’s start date because 14 England players, including captain Stokes, were sick with a mysterious sickness. The ECB and PCB were closely following up on the situation, and a late decision was made to resume the match as scheduled after the players recovered in time. England won the toss in Rawalpindi and chose to bat first, setting a record in just the first session of the innings in this historic encounter.
England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett put up 174/0 in the first session, breaking the record for most runs scored in a Test opening session. They hold India’s four-year-old record of 158 runs in 27 overs against Afghanistan. England reached the same point in 23.3 overs.
By scoring 100 each, the pair put on a double century stand for the first wicket. Zak Crawly, who was frequently mocked and chastised, batted with a strike rate of nearly 110 as he scored 122 off 111 balls. Ben, a Brisbane Heats star, scored 107 as the openers lay the groundwork for the following batsmen. Baz-ball appears to be active wherever they go.
