Ben Duckett and Mark Wood impress for England Lions at Cheltenham
Wednesday 20 July 2016 12:05, UK
Ben Duckett played a superb innings of 163 not out as England Lions romped to a seven-wicket win over Pakistan A in their Tri-Series clash at Cheltenham.
Captained by Dawid Malan, the Lions were playing their first match of the Series against a Pakistan side who had beaten Sri Lanka A on Monday.
Having been put in to bat, Pakistan A were dismissed for 244 in 46 overs, opener Sharjeel Khan making 125, while seamers Tom Curran (4-39) and Mark Wood (3-27) shared seven wickets.
And the hosts then cantered to victory after two balls of the 37th over as Duckett took the Pakistan attack apart.
The Pakistan A openers had earlier got their innings off to a solid start with a stand of 38, only to lose three wickets for one run and slump to 39-3.
Surrey youngster Curran removed Fakhar Zaman (18) and Abdul Rehman Muzammil (0) while England Test bowler Wood, who is continuing his comeback after ankle surgery, bowled the Pakistan A skipper Babar Azam for a duck.
But Sharjeel Khan was batting beautifully at the other end (125 off 101 balls, with 12 fours and seven sixes) and the left-hander led a revival.
Sharjeel added 102 for the fifth wicket with Mohammad Nawaz (35) before the centurion was sixth man out, caught by Wood off spinner Liam Dawson (1-69).
Wicket-keeper Umar Siddiq (33 not out) made sure Pakistan A almost reached 250 and then struck early when the Lions replied, Malan bowled by Hasan Ali for just two.
That brought Northamptonshire's Duckett to the crease and he dominated stands of 68 with Daniel Bell-Drummond (22) and 117 with Joe Clarke (35).
Duckett took just 65 balls to reach a brilliant century and continued to make hay after reaching three figures, finishing with 24 boundaries and four maximums in his 104-ball knock.
Sam Billings (23 not out) joined Duckett to get England Lions over the line, the fourth-wicket duo adding an unbroken 58.
Duckett sealed the win in emphatic fashion with a swept six and next up for the Lions is a day-night clash with Sri Lanka A at Northampton on Thursday.
