‘Could be 4-0 now Wasim..,’ Michael Vaughan predicts India vs England scoreline after 1st Test

Ben Duckett was the top scorer for England in the chase of 371 runs and was also awarded Man Of The Match. Duckett scored 149 runs. “At the heart of this win was Ben Duckett. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves in this team. Pound for pound, I reckon he is the best all-format batsman in international cricket right now. There may be players who are better at one of the formats, but none of them are as good at all three. Others in the conversation would be Travis Head or Aiden Markram, but on current form, I’d have Ben over them, especially as he does it in such a tough position, opening, across all formats,” Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph.

“Duckett is unique, and there is a bit of genius about him. His reverse-sweeping of Ravindra Jadeja in this game was staggering. It’s his smile and relaxed manner, allied with an incredible eye for the ball and clever strategies, that make him so brilliant,” he added.

Duckett’s batting coach James Knott from his school days at Stowe school had told this newspaper about the origin of that reverse sweep. “Ben played hockey and rugby, as well as cricket from a young age at Winchester House Prep School and then throughout his time at Stowe. In hockey, he was a great exponent of reverse hitting the ball and could already play the reverse sweep and switch hit when he arrived at Stowe. We worked more on the orthodox sweep and the paddle sweep which he didn’t play as much,” the coach had told The Indian Express.