Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett Go Past Elite English Opening Pair With Oval Test Blitz Vs India

Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley [Source: AFP]

In a remarkable achievement, England's opening pair of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett surpassed the legendary duo of Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook in an elite list. The English openers had a memorable outing on day 2 of the Oval Test, leaving India shell-shocked with their stroke-play. 

Crawley, Duckett Record Most Runs By An English Opening Pair vs India In Tests

After India posted 224 runs on the board, England had a magnificent start to their innings, with Crawley and Duckett adding 92 runs for the first wicket. Although Duckett missed out on a well-deserved half-century, his quick-fire cameo helped the English duo break the record of Strauss and Cook and become the most successful opening pair from their country against India in Test cricket. 

Most Runs By An English Opening Pair vs India In Tests

• Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett - 984
• Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss - 933
• Mike Atherton, Graham Gooch - 652
• Geoffrey Boycott, Graham Gooch - 520
• Nick Compton, Alastair Cook - 493

As mentioned above, Crawley and Duckett claim the first position on the list, as they race to become England's first-ever opening pair to register 1000 Test runs against India. Overall, the poster boys of Bazball are ranked second, with Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge occupying the first place with 1325 runs under their belt. 

However, despite getting emphatic starts, Crawley and Duckett couldn't breach the three-figure mark in the Oval Test. While Duckett dug his own grave with an audacious reverse scoop, Crawley fell prey to Prasidh Krishna's extra pace. 

Their dismissals brought Ollie Pope and Joe Root into the middle. As of writing, England were 142 for two, with Pope and Root batting on 22* and 8*, respectively. 

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