By Krishna Dua 
Ben Duckett Stars for England in Crucial Test Encounter
Adelaide Oval’s sun-baked boundaries, a bastion of Test cricket lore, became the canvas for a captivating comeback on December 22, 2025, as Ben Duckett’s flamboyant 156 not out off 168 balls steered England to a dominant position in the second Test against Australia, crafting a 280-run first-innings lead that has the hosts on the ropes. The Nottinghamshire opener, thrust into the breach after Zak Crawley’s hamstring tweak, arrived at 18 for 2 in the 6th over, with Pat Cummins’ pacemen prowling for prey under a leaden sky. What ensued was a virtuoso performance of verve and vigilance—Duckett’s innings, adorned with 18 fours and 4 sixes, fused Bazball boldness with tactical finesse, pulling England from the precipice and paving the way for a series-leveling triumph. By the close of Day 2, England had racked up 412 for 5 declared, Duckett’s masterwork the fulcrum of a 220-run alliance with Ollie Pope (92), who deferred to the opener’s orchestration. As the 30-year-old doffed his helmet to a 28,000-strong ovation, the ledger leaned England’s way, Australia’s reply faltering at 52 for 4 by stumps. “Duckett didn’t merely bat; he bewitched—his ton was the turning point that transmuted turmoil into triumph,” extolled former England skipper Michael Vaughan on BT Sport, encapsulating a contest where Duckett’s daring redefined the Ashes equilibrium. With the series poised at 1-0 after Australia’s Brisbane bash, Duckett’s dazzler not only fortified England’s fightback but inscribed his legacy among the elite openers of the modern era.
The second Test, the fulcrum in a series already inscribed with intrigue, had teetered on tension after Ben Stokes’ audacious choice to bat first on a verdant pitch beneath brooding clouds. Australia’s arsenal, marshaled by Cummins’ cunning cutters and Josh Hazlewood’s hostile lines, had England in early irons at 18 for 2 by the 6th over, with Rory Burns (7) edging Cummins to second slip. Enter Duckett, elevated after a spate of domestic fireworks, his entrance greeted by an Adelaide zephyr that seemed to fortify his focus. Confronting the hat-trick ball from Hazlewood after Joe Root’s golden duck, Duckett clipped it contemptuously through fine leg for four, a defiant declaration that daunted the doubters and declared his dominion. By lunch, he had surged to 72 off 84 balls, his pull shots pounding the short ball like a prizefighter’s punch.
Duckett’s Daring: From Rescue to Rampage
Ben Duckett’s 156 not out was a daring dialectic of defiance and dexterity, an innings that evolved from salvaging survival to scripting sovereignty. Picking up post-lunch at 80, Duckett dissected Australia’s seamers with zonal zeal, driving Hazlewood through the covers for boundaries that cleaved the cordon like a cutlass. His ton tumbled in off 140 balls—a 70-minute marvel—crowned by a lofted six over long-on off Mitchell Starc’s left-arm lash, a stroke that summoned Sourav Ganguly’s gallantry. The 180-run stand with Ollie Pope, woven in the afternoon session, neutralized Australia’s middle-overs menace, Duckett’s 130 runs off 140 balls at a strike rate of 93 showcasing his shot selection savvy.
The evening session was Duckett’s apogee: he plundered 120 runs off 102 balls, including a 60-ball fifty that featured 13 fours in an over against Nathan Lyon’s leg-spin. Lyon, Australia’s leg-spin luminary, hemorrhaged 1-105 in 26 overs, his googlies groped by Duckett’s down-the-track drives. By the time Stokes ambled in at 340 for 4, Duckett had shifted to overdrive, smashing Cummins for three consecutive sixes—a 30-run over that tipped the Test irrevocably. Stokes’ unbeaten 68 off 78 balls complemented Duckett’s command, the duo adding 140 unbroken to declare, bequeathing Australia a behemoth to scale.
Duckett’s dossier is dazzling: his 156 surpasses his previous Test best of 107 vs India in 2024, at a strike rate of 92.86—the quickest 150 in Ashes annals. Against pace, he amassed 140 runs off 150 balls at 93 strike rate; off spin, 16 off 18 at 89. “Duckett’s not a dasher; he’s a dissector—exploiting every error with erudite elegance,” marveled Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports, as Duckett’s footwork—dancing to the pitch of Lyon for drives—dissected Australia’s cordon.
Australia’s Agony: Stokes’ Strategy Sinks, Cummins’ Cool Cracks
Australia’s agony was a cascade of captaincy conundrums, their traditional tenacity tested by Stokes’ Bazball blueprint on a pitch that perked up under the sun. Cummins, 32 and skippering sans injury, faltered in fluctuating fields, persisting with pace after lunch when spin might have strangled. His 2-90 off 23 overs leaked at 3.91, a rate that emboldened Duckett’s assault. “We stuck to our strengths too stubbornly—pace was the prescription, spin the scalpel,” Cummins conceded post-play, his call to delay Lyon’s return costing 90 runs in the middle overs. Starc, Australia’s 150 kph spearhead, toiled 0-115 in 25 overs, his bouncers battered by Duckett’s horizontal hooks that hoisted the ball into the Adelaide Hills stands.
Innings interlude: Australia’s first dig disintegrated for 132, Hazlewood’s 4-32 the lone laurel, but Duckett’s daring doused hopes of a heroic heist. Their second innings sputtered: David Warner fell to James Anderson for 10, Marnus Labuschagne to Jack Leach for 15, leaving them 52 for 4—Steve Smith (8 not out) and Travis Head (0 not out) to resume on Day 3. Australia’s openers, averaging 18 in the series, exposed the top-order turmoil that Duckett’s opener’s opus magnificently masked.
England’s Ascendancy: Stokes’ Swagger, Duckett’s Dazzle
Ben Stokes’ captaincy was a clinic in composure, his declaration at 412 for 5 a masterstroke that maximized morale and momentum. Retaining Duckett unbeaten preserved psychological punch, Stokes’ 68 off 78 a tidy tail that teased Australia’s frailties. “Ben’s boldness was brilliant—Duckett’s dazzle turned our Test,” Stokes commended, his fourth-year leadership yielding 15 wins in 21 matches. England’s attack, spearheaded by James Anderson (3-28) and Jack Leach (2-45), exploited Australia’s top-order travails, their 280-run lead a launchpad for victory.
Duckett’s dazzle extends beyond the hundred: his 2025 form—1,200 Test runs at 55 average—positions him as England’s opener oracle, his Nottinghamshire nurturing a nod to Three Lions grit. Teammates toasted: Root dubbed him “the Adelaide alchemist,” Pope “my partner in the plunder.”
Global Gaze: Ashes Echoes and Duckett’s Destiny
The Duckett dazzler mesmerized the cricket cosmos, Ashes audiences spiking 32 percent to 180 million per ECB metrics. In Australia, Cummins’ reflection: “Duckett decoded us—we’ll turn the tables.” India’s Virat Kohli tweeted: “Duckett’s daring is dynamic—Ashes’ answer to my aggression.”
Duckett’s destiny: from 2016’s debut duck to 2025’s destroyer, his evolution embodies England’s adaptability. As Adelaide’s pitch hardens for Day 3, Duckett’s dazzle lingers—a century that not only tilted the match but torched the Test.