- June 25, 2025
Let’s be honest—a modern cricket opener is a tough occupation. A new ball, unpredictable bowlers, tricky pitches—and that is just the first over. Now, try to imagine the same across every format—Test cricket, ODI, and T20—and still look as though you were batting in the nets.
As the fans debated as to who is the greatest all-format batter in the world, Duckett crept into the discussion with a brilliant fourth-innings performance against India at Headingley. His 149 runs off 170 balls was a match-winning performance, but also a statement, a statement in itself. A statement that says, ‘Yeah, I belong, and maybe I’m the one to run this club now.’
The Art of Adaptability: Duckett’s Hidden Superpower
In an age of specialists in formats, Duckett is rewriting the rulebook. Not just a Test opener, not just a T20 dasher, and not just a useful ODI player – he is all of them, and it’s not by chance.
Take the Test at Leeds: in pursuit of 371 on Day 5, against one of the best bowling attacks in the world. What did Duckett do? He played with freedom and flair, and without panic. He wasn’t slogging; he was stylish. When given the chance, he punished the bowlers for anything slack, used the gaps like he had done in T20s, and rotated strike as if he had been doing it all his life in whites.
And this isn’t a bizarre one-off either. Duckett has a reasonable record in ODIs, and he plays his T20 in a measured way in terms of pace and shot selection, which is needed in both franchise and international T20 cricket. Be it the spinning tracks of Dhaka or the green seamers of Headingley, he doesn’t adapt—he dominates.
Under the Radar, Over the Top
Duckett’s ascent is made even more compelling by how under-hyped it has been. He does not carry the PR machine of a Kohli, the fireworks of a Warner, or the calm brand of a Babar. But his game has done the talking—and more recently, it has done the yelling.
That opening stand with Crawley was less a partnership, more a perfectly scripted demolition job. His 62 off 94 set the training wheels for his rhythm. Then he doubled down with an even better innings under increased pressure. He was dropped in 97, but great players will take their chances with a second opportunity, and Duckett did not flinch.
Also, consider how rare what he did was. He is the first Englishman to score a century in the fourth innings of a Test since Alastair Cook in 2010. That is a fifteen-year gap. And Duckett did it with swagger.
The New-Age Opener We Didn’t See Coming
Cricket has moved on, and so have its demands. There was a time when openers spent hours just blocking balls to earn respect. Ben Duckett has all three attributes and more. He is reshaping what an opener can be, especially in Test cricket. He takes the game on, respects the conditions, but plays his own game. That is the magic formula.
What is also noteworthy is his mental side. To go from being in the ticker tape of career struggles to now establishing himself as a reliable player in every format? That is resilience. That is growth. That is world-class mentality.
Ben Duckett’s 149 at Leeds wasn’t just a special knock – it was the sort of innings that can change perceptions. If you went from saying Duckett was a “promising batter” to you now saying he is an “elite opener,” I think this felt like a watershed moment.
So, is this just the start of Duckett’s potential? One thing is for sure – cricket fans should start to pay attention. This could be the age of Duckett.
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