In the past 22 years, the other England openers to score hundreds in the fourth innings of a Test have ended up with knighthoods. Duckett now has a better average at the top of the order than both Sirs Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss. Arise, Sir Ben of the Buckett Hat.
“My mindset personally was a bit different to what it has been over the last couple of years,” said Duckett. “I was trying to focus on key moments. It’s potentially a bit of maturity from me kicking in.”
The thrill of England’s chase does not mean there is no room for improvement. Stokes looked scratchy with the bat, like a man who has only been in the middle three times since December. He is without a Test hundred in almost two years.
Having to chase all those runs means conceding them in the first place, and bar Stokes and Brydon Carse, England’s bowling looked toothless on the first day in Leeds. Chris Woakes and Josh Tongue improved as the game went on, so should be better at Edgbaston next week. Tongue lived up to his nickname – ‘The Mop’ – in cleaning up India’s tail in both innings.
Perhaps the biggest concern was off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who went for 3-190 across the match. He struggled to extract turn or induce false shots and his three wickets came from catches in the deep, suggesting the only way India’s batters were going to get out was if they got after him.
In a short career Bashir has shown a knack of recovering from tough games and will retain Stokes’ unwavering support, but his performances should be watched closely.
This was the beginning of a decisive period for Stokes’ England, even if the captain regularly rejected anything looking beyond this India series to the Ashes in the winter.
As a starter for 10, it was the ultimate appetite whetter.
“Ben and Baz McCullum have created a fantastic vibe around the group,” said Vaughan. “When the pressure’s really on, they smile, they laugh. They seem to be able to play like it’s in their back garden. It’s an amazing ability and mentality to have as a cricket team, long may that continue.
“This is the week that I start to get slightly excited. The last time England won in Australia, and I know it’s a long way off, they had a rock solid top seven. If England can carry playing like they have done this week, they should be able to get on that plane with a rock-solid top seven.”
Speaking of a solid top seven, Australia will look to move on from their World Test Championship disappointment when they take on the West Indies in Barbados on Wednesday.
They will do so with an unfamiliar top order: a 19-year age gap between openers Usman Khawaja and Sam Konstas, Cam Green again shoe-horned in at three and Josh Inglis batting at four despite only doing it on one previous occasion in first-class cricket. It will be the first time in seven years the Aussies have been without at least one of the injured Steve Smith or dropped Marnus Labuschagne in their team.
England’s chase, in every sense, is on.
