Former England skipper Nasser Hussain hailed Ben Duckett for tackling Ravindra Jadeja with aplomb in the opening Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar series. After scoring 62 runs in the first innings, Duckett scored a match-winning knock of 149 runs in the second essay in the run-chase of 371.
Duckett played the reverse sweep with great success against Ravindra Jadeja in the second innings and didn’t allow the experienced spinner to settle in. Jadeja could not make the most of the rough outside the off-stump and Duckett was able to put England in a shoo-in position.
The England opener was awarded Player of the Match after England registered a five-wicket win to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Nasser Hussain wrote for Daily Mail, “Ben Stokes revealed after the first Test that, during the tea interval on the final day, he asked Ben Duckett for advice on how to play Jadeja. The England captain is a very smart cricketer and is always looking to improve. And there is nobody better in his dressing room to ask about facing Jadeja than Duckett. The left-handed opener has faced Jadeja in five Tests and has never been dismissed by him, while Stokes has fallen to him seven times. It is an incredible stat and shows just how well Duckett has played him.”
Hussain noted that batters like Joe Root and Harry Brook get lower in their stance while facing the spinners as compared to Ben Stokes.
“Stokes (6ft) is also a fabulous player of spin, but Joe Root and Harry Brook – who are both tall lads – get lower in their stance than Stokes, with a lower back lift and they pick up the length really well. The way Stokes got out to Jadeja at Headingley in the second innings, though, was more a case of the wrong shot selection. He rightly went to that shot again against Jadeja because they initially only had one man out on the off-side boundary.”
The former English skipper believes Stokes should not have gone for the reverse sweep when India placed two fielders in catching position.
“But then India changed the field, and they put two men catching behind square.” Once they made that subtle change, I thought Stokes should have stopped playing that shot. When you are reverse-sweeping out of the rough with three men on the off-side behind square, one on the boundary and two catching, the percentages are not in your favour. I thought Stokes could have gone to the multitude of other shots he has got – the normal sweep, hit it down the ground for one, get outside off stump and work it to leg, or just kick it out of the rough.”
The second Test match between India and England will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham from July 2nd onwards.
