14 h. ago Crawley, Duckett and Root fall cheaply after India set England colossal 608

Second Test D4: India, 587 & 427-6 dec; England, 407 & 72-3India soaring as Shubman Gill claims another centuryAt 5.35pm on the fourth day of what can already be dubbed Shubman Gill’s Test match, the raucous Hollies Stand at Edgbaston broke out into a chant of “stand up if you still believe”. England were 30 for one, having been set a fanciful 608 to win, and General Melchett’s pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face sprung to mind.Not that they were stood up for long. Within moments Ben Duckett was the second English batter trudging back to the pavilion, eyes down, after his stumps had been rearranged by Akash Deep. This was the latest gut punch for the hosts on a day that had plenty to choose from, Gill’s earlier 161 – a dream-like follow-up to his first innings 269 – having racked up 427 for six declared before his seamers got to work. Continue reading...

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62 h. ago Shubman Gill’s double century puts India in complete control of second Test

Gill scored an imperious 269 on day two at Edgbaston.

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3 d. ago Transfer news live: Liverpool and Chelsea battle for Belgian star and Arsenal handed major Eze boost

Follow all the latest transfer news and gossip from the rumour mill

Sport

4 d. ago Revealed: How Ben Duckett went from bete noire to best in the world

Words of contentment were not reserved solely for the performance itself as Ben Duckett reflected on the career-high moment.

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1 week ago England ease off Bazball big talk but continue to embrace thrill of the chase

Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes’s side have developed clarity in the final innings and never seem to give upSports writers love a Churchillian speech that precedes a mind-bending feat. Take three years ago, when word got back that Brendon McCullum had told his England players to “run towards the danger” at Trent Bridge before Jonny Bairstow vaporised a target of 299 against New Zealand. It was like ruddy catnip for the press corps.And this time, after reeling in 371 at Headingley at a breezy 4.5 runs per over and with 14 overs to spare? Apparently very little was said in the dressing room beforehand beyond “bat the day, win the game” or Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett deciding between them to ignore the target and just “play like it was day one”. Continue reading...

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1 week ago Ben Duckett banished his ego before boosting batting brilliance for England

Duckett produced the best performance of his career in a stunning chase against India in the first Rothesay Test.

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1 week ago India coach provides update on Jasprit Bumrah availability against England: ‘We won’t change it’

Ben Duckett led the way as the hosts chased down 371 to beat India in the first Test

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1 week ago Ben Stokes delighted as England add to good memories at Headingley

Ben Duckett led the way as the hosts chased down 371 to beat India in the first Test.

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1 week ago Joe Root sends emphatic reminder after guiding England to historic India victory

England's miraculous win over India was led by Ben Duckett's brilliant 149, but Joe Root stole the show with his calm presence and classy display to put a lid on Indian giddiness following Ben Stokes' dismissal

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1 week ago The genius behind Ben Duckett and an England innings that twisted reality

The England opener’s aggressive innings inspired a colossal winning chase against India to take a 1-0 lead in the series and, as Cameron Ponsonby explains, underline his status as one of the most complete batters in the game

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1 week ago India suffer humbling defeat but rise and fall in fighting spirit is biggest worry | Simon Burnton

With first Test against England in the balance the tourists revealed another of their plentiful flawsThe day started with drama and tension and later, for a while, they returned. But the period in between was in its own way equally intriguing, a phase that exposed in the tourists a deficiency not of quality, but of spirit. This turns out to be a team whose shoulders suffer from such severe premature drooping someone should invent some kind of blue pill to deal with it.They started with spirits high and performance levels to match, Jasprit Bumrah from the Kirkstall Lane End and Mohammed Siraj coming up the hill from the other, lines and lengths unerring. Ben Duckett hit the third ball for four, after which seven overs passed before the next boundary. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Ben Duckett brilliance fuels sensational chase to secure Test victory against India

England stormed to another famous victory at Headingley

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1 week ago Ben Duckett leads Headingley heroics as England beat India by five wickets in first Test

Hosts complete a brilliant chase on day five at gloomy Headingley to seal victory in first Test

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1 week ago England secure miraculous win over India in first test after Ben Duckett heroics

England needed a mammoth 371 to secure victory in the opening test of the five-match series vs India at Headingley, but a Ben Duckett century set the foundations for a memorable win

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1 week ago Shardul Thakur drags India back into contention against England and sets up thrilling final session

Hosts reach tea on day five at gloomy Headingley with 102 more runs needed for victory

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1 week ago Ben Duckett brilliance puts England in with a chance of sensational Test victory

England need 102 runs with six wickets in hand in the final session.

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1 week ago Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett boost England hopes against India with resilient partnership on tense final day

Hosts reach lunch on day five at gloomy Headingley without loss after openers produce unbroken stand of 117, with 254 more needed

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1 week ago Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett lift England on final day of first Test

The pair boosted the hosts’ chances of drawing first blood at Headingley in the Rothesay Test series.

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2 w. ago Ben Duckett thrilled as Ollie Pope silences questions about his England place

Pope hit a magnificent hundred.

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2 w. ago Jasprit Bumrah turns the series into two – when he’s bowling and when he’s not | Andy Bull

Crawley had no chance, Duckett was castled, Pope was dropped and Brook was lucky. All in a day’s work for a master fast bowlerYou could see the weather coming at Headingley, there were billows of grey rain clouds out to the south, creeping slowly up towards the back of the Football Stand. And you knew something wicked was on its way in England’s innings, too.The rain arrived right around the time it was supposed to begin, when Jasprit Bumrah was there waiting for them at the far end of his run, tossing the ball from one hand to the other, wearing a forbidding grin. England’s openers, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, were so slow walking out to join him in the middle that it felt as if they were hanging on word of a last-minute pardon. Continue reading...

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