Ben Duckett cherishes "very special" return to Test cricket

The Nottinghamshire opener, 28, hit his maiden Test century in his first red-ball appearance for England for six years

Ben Duckett reflected on a "very special, pretty crazy day" after marking his return to the Test arena with a maiden England century.

The Nottinghamshire left-hander made 107 off 110 balls in a remarkable 233-run opening partnership with Zak Crawley, who hit the fastest hundred by an England opener on a record-breaking afternoon in Rawalpindi.

Duckett carved his first ball through backward point for four and never looked back, cutting whenever he was given any width and clipping off his legs at will against the seamers, before unfurling his array of sweeps once the spin of Zahid Mahmood was introduced.

The 28-year-old last played for England in Test cricket six years ago on consecutive tours of Bangladesh and India, but he struggled against Ravichandran Ashwin and returned to county cricket. Ever since, he has piled on the runs at domestic level and admitted before this series began that at times he had doubted whether the chance to represent his country in the longest format would ever come again.

But after making the most of this second opportunity, born out of his ability against spin and an unfilled berth at the top after Alex Lees was dropped following the summer, Duckett pinpointed the importance of a team culture under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum that encourages playing with freedom.

"I don't think there will be a better environment to be involved in," he told Sky Sports. "I am sure there will be a lot of cricketers in England who will want to be part of it. It went well today."

He added that his success in the T20I series earlier this winter in Pakistan ahead of the T20 World Cup had given him "big confidence" coming into this week, ahead of which he was confined to his hotel room with a viral infection.

^{Duckett and Zak Crawley put together a 233-run opening partnership, 174 of which came in a record-breaking first session in Rawalpindi (Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)}

"For me personally, it's a special day, it's one I didn't think that'll come around," he said.

"I was back at my county trying to score as many runs as I could, just felt I wasn't close to being picked. The real change was looking at the squad of players at the start of the summer, I went back to playing with more freedom.

"I am sure there will be lots of cricketers desperate to be in this dressing room and I was one of them last summer. They allow you to play your game and play with freedom."

Duckett eventually fell via a review from Babar Azam after for once he missed his trusty reverse-sweep. But by then, he had been involved in the highest-scoring opening session in Test history and the format's fastest-ever double-century stand.

His was the second of four hundreds – the first time that four players had reached three figures on day one of a Test match – and set up England to end the day on 506 for 4, the most runs ever scored on the first day of a Test.

"The best thing is everyone has lived by how the two guys up top want us to play," added Ollie Pope, who made 108.

"They want us to entertain people. It is not about milestones. It is about putting on a show and putting the team in a good position. The fact everyone is so happy to buy into that puts us in a really good place."

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