In 13 overs, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett turn into agents of chaos to give England headway

Akash Deep had just conceded three boundaries in an over, England had reached 84/0 in 11 overs. The pacer stood stunned on his bowling run-up. It was only when wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel and the entire slip cordon, having walked from the other end, started to take their position around him that he realised he needed to walk back to his field-position at fine leg. The English openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley were responsible for the Indian team’s collective 13-over long brain freeze. The frame Akash Deep staring blankly into nothingness captured it.

The skipper had changed Akash Deep’s end, the bowler had made a conscious effort to alter his length. He was largely short in his spell from the other end where Duckett had treated him like a club bowler. In one over, he charged down the pitch, made room by moving towards the square and slammed him on the off-side to hit a couple of fours. It was a flat hit with a horizontal bat, bringing to mind Jannik Sinner.

In the same over, he had even flicked him for a four. And when Akash Deep, from a changed end, was bowling full on the off-side it was Crawley who was treating him with disdain. He was driving him through cover with brutal power, hitting him over the extra-covers head and slamming him past mid-off.

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After Gus Atkinson’s deadly morning spell, where he bowled full, giving the ball enough air time to swing and hit the wicket consistently to complete a fiver, hopes were raised at The Oval that Akash Deep, man of the match in Birmingham, could reproduce a similar feat. But that proved to be wishful thinking.

Duckett and Crawley are not only skilled and brave to score quick runs by playing their daring brand of cricket, but they also shake the confidence of the bowlers, creating doubts and making the rival captain look more clueless than he actually is.

Puzzled Gill

During the England opener’s wild run, the camera would focus on Shubman Gill’s face. He looked puzzled and at times even bemused. In between their dominating assault on the Indian bowlers, Duckett and Crawley would be barely surviving. There would be play and misses, and edges from the swinging bat would fly over the slips. It can be argued that Shubman didn’t change his plan, he didn’t even come up with funky field placements. He didn’t even go on the defensive. But he couldn’t have.

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When Crawley and Duckett are on the field, there needs to be fielders in catching position. Earlier in the series, India had committed the mistake of sending fielders to the fence to stop the run flow but that meant playing into their hands. Even with the field spread, Crawley and Duckett can score freely and fetch the ball to the boundary. The range of unconventional strokes they have, they can send the ball to the perennially unguarded areas of the ground.

It repeatedly happened during Duckett’s short but seemingly game-changing innings. There was a Siraj ball that was pitched outside off-stump, a drive through covers was easily the percentage-shot for the ball. But it seemed the diminutive England opener had pre-decided that he would be playing a reverse scoop on the ball.

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So he would virtually cover the breadth of the pitch before the ball reached him. By doing so, the ball pitched on the off-stump was now on his legs. This risky one-two with his fleet feet would put Duckett in a position to guide the ball over over the wicket keeper and slip cordon’s heads for a six. Against Akash Deep he came up with a reverse ramp that went for a six, once again the bowler had a dazed look and the captain visibly clueless.

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During the Duckett and Crawley partnership, there was a nice breeze blowing across the field. Occasionally there was cloud cover and the pitch was greenish too. But somehow it felt that this was a T20 game on a dead track on a hot humid day. On their day, rather in their hour, they can negate the conditions and make a Test match look like a white-ball slug fest.

Long and short of them

Bowling to this left-right opening pair with a significant height difference too is a big challenge for the bowlers. Duckett had once explained why they are difficult to bowl at. “There is the obvious height difference; he’s so much taller than me that the bowlers’ lengths have to be very different to both of us. He’s quite calm and relaxed at the crease, which is very similar to me,” he had said.

“We both want to play a similar style. It might mean we are 10/2 occasionally and other times we are 50/0 off not many [overs] and the bowlers are panicking a bit. I feel if they bowl a bad ball he’s going to smack it to the boundary, so there is pressure from both ends and the bowlers can’t just settle in against one of us.”

On Friday, it wasn’t just a 50/0 kind of day, it was a 92/0. Duckett and Crawley are an odd couple against whom it’s extremely odd to bowl. Shubman and his boys were caught in a revolving door called Duckett and Crawley.

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