Ben Duckett continues to be schooled for claiming England deserve credit for how Yashasvi Jaiswal batted on the third day of their third Test against India in Rajkot. After former England captain Nasser Hussain, Michael Clarke has reminded Duckett of a few Australian names who were known for their aggressive strokeplay in Test cricket as well.
England have been basking in the glory of their aggressive intent with the bat in Test cricket, a tactic that has helped them dominate opponents since the appointment of Ben Stokes as captain and Brendon McCullum as coach.
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England brought ‘Bazball’ to India and tasted instant success in Hyderabad with a stunning win in the ongoing five-Test series opener. However, twice in a row and Rajkot in particular, their strategy backfired spectacularly with India crushing them by a whopping 434-run margin.
“He (Duckett) must have missed Australia for 20 years,” former Australia skipper Clarke said on ESPN Australia. “As a youngster, he must not know what Test cricket Australia played. Has he heard of Matthew Hayden, Michael Slater, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist? These guys used to smack it as good as everyone.”
“Because you play a reverse sweep or a switch hit or a ramp shot, that doesn’t mean you are batting aggressively either. Matthew Hayden just walked down the wicket and hit you straight over your head for a six. He didn’t have to play a ramp or a switch hit,” Clarke added.
‘England Should Take Some Credit’
After Jaiswal raced away to a quick century on Day 3, Duckett had said England have forced their opponents to play differently and therefore, a part of the credit should go to his team.
“He (Jaiswal) looks like a superstar in the making, unfortunately he’s in some very good form at the moment,” Duckett said. “When you see players from the opposition playing like that, it almost feels like we should take some credit that they’re playing differently than how other people play Test cricket. We saw it a bit in the summer and it’s quite exciting to see other players and other teams are also playing that aggressive style of cricket.”
What Next?
The two teams are arrived in Ranchi for the fourth Test with India 2-1 ahead. The hosts have released Jasprit Bumrah from their squad for the contest ahead while KL Rahul continues to be unavailable due to fitness concerns. Mukesh Kumar has rejoined the squad.
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