England skipper Ben Stokes hailed the roles of openers Zak Crawley (65, 126b, 7×4) and Ben Duckett (149, 170b, 21×4, 1×6) within the staggering five-wicket win over India within the Headingley Test right here.
The duo’s tone-setting 188-run stand established such a robust basis that even a late-afternoon wobble didn’t thwart the pursuit.
“The way that Zak played was huge,” Stokes mentioned after the sport on Tuesday. “They complement each other so well. Left hand, right hand, one’s a giant, one’s not. It’s very hard for the bowlers to find any rhythm.”
Stokes said {that a} simplicity of strategy helped. “We’re a very simple-minded pair, me and Baz [Brendon McCullum]. When you’re chasing totals like that, how you are in the dressing room is very important. Because the lads have got jobs to go out there and do.
“Keeping the calm, relaxed vibe as much as we can throughout the dressing room is so important. It was pretty simple — if we bat the overs left, we will win this game just because of how quick this ground is. It’s probably been over four an over anyway without any team really doing anything… bar Rishabh [Pant]. It’s just a very, quick-scoring ground.”
On day one, India made 359 for 3, however Stokes mentioned that he had no second ideas about having requested India to bat first. “Test matches are played over five days,” he mentioned. “Imagine thinking that way at the end of day one, before we’ve even had a chance to bat on the wicket…”
