Duckett sparkles with century as Eng punish Zim
England's Ben Duckett acknowledges crowd cheers as he walks back to the pavilion having lost his wicket for 140 on the first day of the four-day Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge. PHOTO: AFP
England opener Ben Duckett scored a rapid century on his home ground as he punished Zimbabwe's tame seam attack to help his side to 295 for one at tea on the opening day of the one-off four-day test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Thursday. Duckett smashed 140 from 134 balls before he was caught at cover by Ben Curran off the bowling of Wessly Madhevere, having put on an opening stand of 231 with Zak Crawley in 41.3 overs.
Crawley, who has been short of test runs in recent times, will resume after tea on 93 from 139 balls, along with Ollie Pope, who has 49 from 46 deliveries. Zimbabwe's military medium pace, coupled with an inability to create pressure through a consistent line and length, allowed England's batters to make hay as the sun peaked out from behind overcast clouds in the afternoon.
Left-hander Duckett reached his century from exactly 100 balls with 15 fours as he drove and cut the wayward visiting attack. He added two sixes before he was out to another innocuous delivery, rocking onto the back foot and slapping the short ball to a grateful Curran. There would be no let-up for the visitors when Pope came to the crease as he raced along at more than a run a ball.
Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine won the toss and put England into bat, hoping the cloudy and cold morning conditions would force an early breakthrough.
England handed a debut to seamer Sam Cook as well as a return to the test arena, after a two-year injury-enforced absence, for fellow fast bowler Josh Tongue.
McCullum wants Eng to show a bit more humility
England head coach Brendon McCullum said his players must try to show a bit more humility and remember that they are still being judged by how they act away from the cricket field.
McCullum and captain Ben Stokes have championed England's results-oriented approach built primarily on their take-no-prisoners batting style. While the aggressive brand of cricket won them 11 of the first 12 matches under the leadership pairing, its effectiveness waned and they lost test series in India and Pakistan last year.
In March, England Director of Cricket Rob Key said players needed to "stop talking rubbish" after some made casual comments about not caring about outcomes. "It's not just about what you do on the cricket field," McCullum said ahead of their one-off test against Zimbabwe at Nottingham beginningon Thursday. "It's how you carry yourself.
It's how you interact with the public. It's the messaging that you give." The New Zealander added that he would wanted the players "show some humility and not feel out of touch with the general population".
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