England have registered a major unwanted record in the history of Test and First-Class cricket despite piling up 407 runs in reply to India's 587 in the second Test at Edgbaston. Harry Brook and Jamie Smith put on a batting masterclass after the Three Lions were in major trouble at 84/5, with a threat of follow-on looming large.
Smith and Brook brought England back into the game with a massive stand of 303, with Smith scoring 184, the highest score by an English wicketkeeper batter in the history of the format. Brook, who had missed out on a hundred in the first Test by the barest of the margins, got to his ton in this one, slamming 158 from 234 balls in the first innings.
England first team to create major unwanted record
Meanwhile, England have registered an all-time unwanted record in Test and First-Class cricket. While these two took England over 400, the visitors hardly had any other batters putting up a notable knock. Six of the 11 batters were dismissed for duck as the Indian bowlers showed their class on what is a flat pitch which is slowing down.
England have become the first team in the history of Test and FC cricket to have scored over 400 runs with six players or more getting out for a duck. The previous highest total for a team with more than five ducks belonged to Bangladesh, who had hit 365 against Sri Lanka in a Test in 2022 despite six players getting dismissed for a nought.
Players to get dismissed for duck
While, Smith and Brook tallied 342 of the 407 runs scored by the hosts, the next highest score belonged to Joe Root, who had hit 22. Six players - Ben Duckett (0 from 5 balls), Ollie Pope (0 from 1 ball), Ben Stokes (0 from 1 ball), Brydon Carse (0 from 4 balls), Josh Tongue (0 from 2 balls), Shoaib Bashir (0 from 2 balls) - got out for a duck in the first innings.
After England were bowled out for 407, the visitors replied well in the second innings but lost Yashasvi Jaiswal after a bright start. They went back 64/1 at stumps on Day with a lead of 244.