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 more natural and freewheeling rhythms. On a raucous second day in Manchester that saw India dominated, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum could have been forgiven for feeling rather smug as they watched the runs flow like wine.

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. Stokes claimed his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket for eight years, Jofra Archer finished with three to further optimism about his comeback, and the tourists were bowled out for 358 in 114.1 overs.

And then, after the sun broke out, India’s seamers got it horribly wrong and England raced to 225 for two from 46 overs by stumps. Old Trafford’s acrophobia-inducing party stand was rocking like Heaton Park last week, Shubman Gill was struggling 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 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 feathered an edge to slip off Ravindra Jadeja. Ben Duckett was then second to miss out on three figures when, on 94, he looked to cut debutant Anshul Kamboj for his 14th boundary only to gallingly feather it behind. The long trudge off the field, eyes fixed on the floor, was a reminder of why cricket is so maddening.

But the pair had still ransacked 166 runs in just over two hours of batting bliss, with their fifth century stand since coming together in late 2022 the latest reminder of their complementary attributes. It has laid a significant platform for those lower down, too, with Ollie Pope and Joe Root set to resume in the morning unbeaten on 20 and 11 respectively. India, still 133 runs ahead, will hope those clouds roll back in.

More to follow shortly