BEN Duckett believes a change of mindset has inspired his successful return to Test cricket after a brilliant century laid the foundation for England’s remarkable win in their series opener with India.
Duckett’s commanding 149 was the key innings as England successfully chased an imposing total of 371 to win by five wickets in the first Test at Headingley on Tuesday.
It was another milestone moment for 30-year-old Duckett since returning to the England side in December 2022.
His 30 appearances in his second spell as a Test cricketer have yielded 2,511 runs at an average of 47.37 and a strike rate of 88.07.
Duckett’s heroics at Headingley saw him lauded by former England captain Nasser Hussain, who labelled him “the best multi-format batsman in the world”.
Duckett said his success was down to an improved mentality after he had been criticised for getting himself out with needlessly flamboyant shots.
“My mindset personally is a bit different to what it has been over the last couple of years,“ he told reporters.
“Potentially there’s a bit of maturity kicking in. Playing more Test matches, learning from mistakes, is number one.
“Failures are easy to make changes and learn from, rather than just when you do well.”
Jasprit Bumrah, the world’s top ranked Test fast bowler, did not take a wicket in England’s second innings, with Duckett playing a key role in subduing the India star.
“It was pretty obvious Jasprit was a big threat of theirs,“ he said.
“It was about realising whenever he came on it was going to be a short, sharp burst, trying to see him off and not necessarily playing any big shots.
“It’s just realising that and taking the ego out of things. When he’s coming on it’s to get the breakthrough, get me out, and if you get through that period it gets easier.”
Duckett was ably assisted on Tuesday by Zak Crawley, who made 65 in a dominant opening stand of 188 with Duckett that paved the way for England to go 1-0 up in a five-match series ahead of next week’s second Test at Edgbaston.
Crawley started the season with his England place being called into question following a run of low scores against New Zealand.
He responded with a century against Zimbabwe in a one-off Test at Trent Bridge last month.
The opener’s fifty at Headingley was arguably even more valuable given the quality of the bowling and the state of the game.
“The leadership of this team don’t really talk about these things – if my place was under pressure they certainly wouldn’t tell me,“ said Crawley, who has long enjoyed the backing of England captain Ben Stokes.
“But I wasn’t playing how I wanted to play in the winter and I feel a lot better about my game now.”
