Ben Duckett scored his first Test century in more than a year, revealing that shedding weight helped him pile on runs for England. The opening batter credited a post-winter fitness regime for his form in the heat, after he lost about 6kg (13lb) following his winter international commitments.
Duckett's fitness transformation
Duckett stepped away from the nets for a four-week bootcamp, adopting a new fitness regime that included running for the first time. “It’s an area of my career where I haven’t necessarily helped myself or been great at,” he said after scoring a 99-ball 113 on his home ground at Trent Bridge. “The biggest thing is I’m not getting any younger and I want to keep doing this, to keep having days like this, for as long as I possibly can.”
Luck and karmic comeback
The century came after Duckett was blamelessly run out at the Oval last week. He admitted he deserved some luck, having edged to slip when on eight. “I was chatting to [fielding coach] Sarah Taylor this morning and I said I’ve got to get some luck eventually, that’s just how the game works,” he said.
England's dominant morning
England took New Zealand’s last six first-innings wickets for 77 at the start of the day, with Ben Stokes leading the way with three in his eight overs. “A lot of teams would have folded in the position we were in,” Duckett said. “We want to be a side that never gives up and wins from different positions, and when he’s doing that it’s pretty impossible for everyone else not to get on his back and do the same. That was just an incredible, incredible morning for us.”
New Zealand's perspective
New Zealand slipped from 317 without loss to 438 all out. Daryl Mitchell acknowledged England's bowling but remained optimistic: “We had a great opening partnership and yes, you want to score more runs, but England are allowed to bowl well and I thought this morning they bowled well, they took their chances, and here we are now. But the cool thing is, we’ve still got a lead. Test cricket’s about five days, not just one or two, and we’ll be giving it everything we can to be there on that day five.”
