Decoding Crawley & Duckett's opening partnership stats in Test cricket
What's the story
England's opening batsmen Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley put on a blistering 166-run partnership on Day 2 of the fourth Test against India at Emirates Old Trafford. The stand put the hosts in a commanding position after India posted 358/10 while batting first. Though the English openers got their side off to a sensational start, both batters missed out on tons. Here we dissect their opening partnership stats in Test cricket.
Partnership
Crawley & Duckett power England against India
Duckett and Crawley started England's innings on a cautious note but later attacked Indian bowlers. The pair added 166 runs for the opening wicket before Ravindra Jadeja broke the stand by dismissing Crawley for 84 off 113 balls. Anshul Kamboj then claimed his maiden Test wicket by sending Duckett back to the pavilion for a well-made 94 off just 100 balls.
Stats
Partnership average of 45.55
As per ESPNcricinfo, Duckett and Crawley have opened for England across 53 innings as a pair in Test cricket. They have added 2,369 runs in these innings at a fine average of 45.55. The two dashers are currently seventh in terms of England pairs with the most opening partnership runs in Tests. However, their partnership average of 45.55 is the second-worst among England opening pairs with at least 2,000 Test runs.
Information
The English duo is way above their peers
It must be noted that no other opening pair has even added 1,300 Test runs since Duckett and Crawley opened for the first time together in Tests. India's Yashasvi Jaiswal-Rohit Sharma (1,269) and New Zealand's Devon Conway-Tom Latham (1,030) are the only other opening pairs with 1,000-plus partnership runs in this period.
Dissection
17 50-plus stands
The Duckett-Crawley partnership has yielded 17 50-plus stands in Tests, including five century partnerships. Four of their partnerships have crossed the 160-run mark. This also includes a couple of double-century stands. Meanwhile, England's 2022 Rawalpindi Test against Pakistan, which got underway on December 1, saw Duckett and Crawley open together for the first time in Tests. Both batters made tons in the first innings and added 233 runs - their highest partnership to date.
Run rate
Do you know?
Duckett and Crawley have yielded their runs at a rate of 4.98 runs per over. This is the third-best run rate among opening pairs with 2,000-plus partnership runs. They are only behind Pakistan's Mohsin Khan-Mudassar Nazar (5.73) and England's Jack Hobbs-Wilfred Rhodes (5.07) in this regard.
Home stats
Numbers are even stellar at home
1,224 of the Duckett-Crawley partnership runs have come at home at an even better average of 55.63. The other 1,145 runs have come away from home (away and neutral venues combined) at 38.16. Only one of their five century partnerships has come outside England, in Pakistan. However, their run rates in home (4.95) and away from home (5.02) Tests are the second-best among opening pairs with 1,000-plus runs in both categories.