Duckett and Crawley’s 166-run stand hurts India on England’s dominant day

After the mature, pragmatic climb to a match-winning first innings total at Lord’s came the return of England’s natural, more freewheeling rhythms. Wickets tumbled, runs flowed and a raucous second day in Manchester ended with the hosts in the ascendancy.

It began with a successful dousing of India’s lower order either side of lunch as the second new ball moved lavishly under cloud cover. Ben Stokes claimed his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket for eight years, Jofra Archer furthered optimism about his comeback with three, and the tourists were rolled for 358 in 114.1 overs. Rishabh Pant bravely emerged with his fractured foot but 17 more runs was all he could muster.

And then, sunshine having broken out, India’s attack got it horribly wrong and England raced to 225 for two from 46 overs at stumps. Old Trafford’s vertigo-inducing party stand had been rocking like Heaton Park last week, Shubman Gill struggled to find solutions and memories of that thwarted Ashes Test here two years ago came flooding back. Here is hoping rain does not have such a significant say in this one.

There was no century for Zak Crawley this time, however, the opener shut down for 84 from 113 balls when he sent an edge to slip off Ravindra Jadeja. Ben Duckett was then next to miss out on three figures when, on 94 from 100, he went to cut Anshul Kamboj for a 14th boundary only to feather behind. The long trudge off the field, Duckett’s eyes fixed on the floor, was a reminder of why cricket is such a maddening pursuit.

And yet as the pair decompressed in the dressing room they still could reflect on having ransacked 166 runs in just over two hours of batting bliss. Perhaps this was sparked by Gill accusing them of breaching the spirit of cricket at Lord’s. Although one suspects this fifth century stand since they came together in late 2022 was chiefly a reflection of the complementary skills in which England are so heavily invested.

View image in fullscreen Rishabh Pant added 17 painful runs before he was bowled by Jofra Archer. Photograph: Steve Taylor/PPAUK/Shutterstock

Duckett brought early momentum through typical friskiness – the punchy cuts and clips from his Headingley hundred returned – before Crawley emerged from his slipstream, shook off a blow to the hand from Jasprit Bumrah, and started to motor himself. Their eventual separation went against the run of play, Crawley having crunched a quartet of fours and one straight six off Jadeja before a smidgen of turn proved his undoing.

A bumper platform laid, Ollie Pope (20) and Joe Root (11) will resume in themorning – the latter 108 runs away from overtaking everyone bar Sachin Tendulkar in the all-time run charts. But India are 133 runs ahead, they will doubtless remind themselves, and conditions could yet lurch back in their favour. The tourists must locate their lengths much quicker than occurred on day two, however, when radars went a bit haywire.

Quick Guide Women's Test to feature at Lord's for first time next year Show The first women’s Test match to be held at Lord’s will take place next July when England take on India over four days. The dates for the historic fixture, England’s first home Test since the 2023 Ashes, were announced on Thursday as part of the full 2026 home schedule for both the men’s and women’s teams. Ben Stokes’ men’s Test team are due to face New Zealand in a three-match series in June, and Pakistan in a three-match series in August and September. Harry Brook’s white-ball team will face India in July in five T20s and three ODIs, with Sri Lanka visiting in September to play three T20s and three ODIs. PA Media Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback.

Kamboj, a bustling medium-pacer, was certainly a strange choice to share the new ball with Bumrah, with the relegated Mohammed Siraj then suffering one of his off days to go at nearly six runs an over. Shardul Thakur went at sevens, with his efforts summed up by spraying the ball down leg to a 7-2 field. Bumrah was naturally the thriftiest on show but, already 13 overs into his work, he cannot do it all on his own.

Daft thing was, having resumed on 264 for four, India’s first innings total looked a useful one. The second new ball did plenty for England – even too much at times – and not least when Archer got his fifth delivery of the day to jag across Jadeja and clip the left-hander’s outside edge. Harry Brook snaffled an excellent catch diving to his left.

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Thakur grafted hard for 41. But when Stokes replaced the luckless Chris Woakes and sent a thick edge to gully, the clank, clank, clank heard hobbling down the metal steps signalled the emergence of Pant. “Desh ke liye” – for the country – was what he apparently told friends the previous evening. Old Trafford rose as one to applaud.

What followed was an awkward watch at times, Stokes spearing in yorkers and Pant’s struggle to run slowing things down. But there was still a dash of the magic that will be missed at the Oval, Pant carting Archer for his 90th six in Test cricket – an Indian record he now shares with Virender Sehwag – and a creamed cover drive for his half-century.

Even his exit, bowled by Archer for 54, was eye-catching: a carbon copy of that one that sent him packing at Lord’s, only for the stump to cartwheel backwards and stick in the turf like a javelin. Archer continues to impress on his comeback, both through his physical hardiness and the serious issues he is causing left-handers.

Although it was Stokes who shone brightest, with Washington Sundar bounced out for 27 and Kamboj nicked off to make it 16 wickets for the series – a career best that surpasses his phoenix-like emergence during the otherwise bleak 2013-14 Ashes tour. Whisper it, given all eyes should be on India, but the rhythm that Stokes has struck upon with the ball this summer augurs well for his return visit this winter.

Thereafter it was a case of Stokes kicking back alongside Brendon McCullum on the England balcony, drinking in Duckett’s latest whirlwind and watching Crawley book his plane ticket to Australia. Things have come together for the pair in Manchester this week, while the one break to come India’s way – Pant’s right foot – has been ruinous.

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