"Duckett getting a few on the board before the baby arrives" - Twitter reacts to England opener's quickfire 50 against West Indies
England opening batter Ben Duckett slammed a record 32-ball fifty in the first session of Day 1 of the second Test against the West Indies at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Thursday, July 18. The left-handed batter was eventually dismissed for 71 runs off 59 deliveries by Shamar Joseph, courtesy of a sharp catch by Jason Holder at second slip.
Duckett had to witness his opening partner Zak Crawley depart for a duck as the West Indies made an early breakthrough after opting to bowl first. Despite the loss of a wicket, the aggressive batter went about his business, beginning with four successive boundaries off Jayden Seales in the second over.
Riding on the momentum from the early onslaught, Duckett kept punishing the bowlers to propel England to the 50-run mark in just the fifth over.
He reached his fifty in the 10th over, etching his name into the history books by recording the joint third-fastest half-century after Ian Botham and Jonny Bairstow.
Twitter applauded the positive knock by the opening batter that puts England in a great position to seal the series. Here are some of the reactions:
"Also someone tell Ben Duckett the Hundred starts NEXT week!" one tweet read.
"Is Duckett's partner already in labor?" another tweet read.
"Take a bow, Ben" one fan remarked.
Dan Lawrence on standby for Ben Duckett in the second Test against the West Indies
Batter Dan Lawrence has been kept on standby on the bench to complete the playing XI should Ben Duckett be required to leave the Test match and attend the birth of his child.
"We will have to make a decision if it happens before the game and we are batting. If it happens during the Test, Ben will go and then return to the team. He is incredibly eager to play this Test match, but the message from me and Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum) is that family comes first. Whatever decision he makes, he has our full support," Stokes had said during the pre-match press conference.
As of writing, England are placed at 118/2 after 22 overs, with Ollie Pope and Joe Root currently sharing the crease.