England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett have shattered a 76-year-old record at Headingley during the second innings of the first Test between India and England in Leeds. Chasing a target of 371 in the fourth innings to win the Test, the English openers took the hosts off to an unscathed start on Day 4, before putting in a strong show in the first session on Day 5.
Crawley and Duckett negated the tricky phase with the cloudy sky and floodlights beaming through most of the opening session. The two put 96 runs without any loss as the hosts went to lunch 117/0. Meanwhile, the two players have shattered a 76-year-old record at the venue with their stand.
Crawley and Duckett have broken the record for the highest opening partnership at Headingley in the fourth innings. The previous record belonged to the New Zealand pair of Verdun Scott and Bert Sutcliffe, both of whom had put up 112 for the opening wicket in the final innings against England in 1949.
Highest fourth innings opening stands at Headingley:
1 - Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett: 117* runs vs India in 2025
2 - Verdun Scott and Bert Sutcliffe: 112 runs vs England in 1949
3 - Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes: 106 runs vs England in 1984
4 - Graeme Fowler and Chris Tavare: 103 vs Pakistan in 1982
5 - Jeff Dujon and Desmond Haynes: 67* vs England in 1988
Crawley and Duckett complete 2000 runs as opening pair
Meanwhile, Crawley and Duckett have also completed 2000 runs as an opening pair. They have become the eighth England opening pair to have done so. The list is headed by the iconic English pair of Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss, who had put a total of 4711 runs in their career as openers. Strauss had another highly successful opening gig with Marcus Trescothick. The two had put 2670 runs as openers for England, which is the fourth most.
England go to Lunch unscathed
The England openers have done the first job pretty well. They accumulated 96 runs off the first session and did not lose any wickets as there was not much swing and/or seam movement. India tried changing the ball, but could do in only in the latter stages of the session. However, the hosts still did not lose a wicket and needed another 254 to win from the final two sessions.
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