- June 25, 2025
What do you get when you throw in 500 years, a historic chase, and a brutal Ben Duckett all into a final day that was nothing short of a cracking Test? Cricketing carnage. Records tumbled and hearts cracked as England and India turned Headingley into a theatre of cricketing chaos at day 5. India, where, at least at the time, seemingly did more than enough with the bat, but England had other ideas and executed those in style.
England’s Chase Masterclass Breaks Headingley Hoodoo
Chasing 371 on the last day of a Test match is not the calling of the faint-hearted. England turned the heat into cotton candy, cruising past the target with five wickets like it was a summer stroll. This was more than winning, it was their highest successful chase at home at Headingley of all time. Up to this point, their highest chase at this venue was against Australia in 2019 (359) under Stokes’ heroic innings. The version of this 2025? Less drama and all domination. They didn’t quite reach the highest peak, but this climb still joins England’s greatest ascents—and yes, India knows the view.
India’s Hundred Party Ends in a Historic Defeat
Let it sink in: five Indian players scored centuries in this Test—Jaiswal, Gill, Pant (twice!), and Rahul. However, all those runs were in vain as the team lost. That’s a first in Test cricket! No other team in Test history posted five individual centuries to go down to defeat. Australia managed this close feat in 1928/29 with four individual centuries (including Don Brabham’s!), but there will be no other comparison. This is a statistic that will live in India’s dressing room and for trivia aficionados for a long time, because if five centuries won’t win you a match, what will?
Duckett & Crawley Smash History at the Top—Bye Bye, 1949
When you break a record that has stood since 1949, you know it is not the same as another day at the office. The scoreboard ticked and history trembled as Duckett and Crawley stitched together the kind of opening stand legends are measured against. The previous record was 112 runs between New Zealand’s Verdun Scott and Bert Sutcliffe, and it stood for over seventy years! Crawley played the calm partner while Duckett took charge, with a fluent, explosive innings.
Duckett Destroys Records with a Fourth-Innings Classic
Scoring a century in the fourth innings is a huge achievement when the pitch is deteriorating, and the pressure starts to build. Duckett didn’t just score a century—he hit the highest fourth-innings score against India, completing an incredible 149 off 170 balls. He also bettered Joe Root’s 142 from 2022, also against India. It’s worth noting in the cravats that Duckett’s name now joins Faf du Plessis (134) and Duleep Mendis (124), among others, in the record books. That he was able to play so fluently and with such control makes it that much more impressive to have achieved it in such a manner. It was less a resistance innings and more a masterclass.
Duckett Books a Spot in Elite Headingley History
And if that wasn’t enough, Duckett added another notch to his belt. With scores of 62 in the first innings and 149 in the second innings, Duckett became only the second opener in 30 years to score a pair of 50+ scores at Headingley. The only other name on that list? Alastair Cook. It was also the first occasion since 2010 that an opener for England scored a fourth-innings century in Tests. It’s safe to say that Ben Duckett’s place in the Test setup for England is looking more permanent with every innings.
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