England were comfortably placed at 225 for two at stumps after bowling out India for 358 on the second day of the fourth Test in Manchester on Thursday.
After a cautious start, Crawley and Duckett punished the straying Indian bowlers with an array of crisp boundaries. The pair blunted the new ball and raced to 77 without loss at tea.
"Just Rishabh being Rishabh": Pant's grit wins hearts as he returns to bat in Manchester Test
England fast bowler Jofra Archer has been ruled out until the summer after undergoing a second operation on his injured right elbow, the country's cricket board (ECB) said on Tuesday.
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru carried off from last season with dominating performances in their opening two games of IPL 2026.
Jamie Smith will return from injury to keep wickets and bat at number three in England's Champions Trophy opener against Australia in Lahore on Saturday.
While former Australian opener Matthew Hayden reckons series will go India's way, two former India players believe otherwise.
Jofra Archer has been plagued by injuries for the last three years.
Less than two weeks after being dismissed as a "dud" Down Under, Joe Root finally shrugged the monkey off his back with a first Test century in Australia on Thursday to breathe life into England's Ashes campaign.
Images from the IPL 2025 match between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals in Mullanpur on Saturday
IMAGES from Day 5 of the 3rd Ashes Test in Adelaide on Sunday.
India equal England's first-innings score of 387 with Test in balance
Spin-bowling all-rounder Will Jacks will replace paceman Mark Wood in an otherwise unchanged England side for the second Ashes Test against Australia in Brisbane.
Australia have suffered another blow ahead of the Ashes opener against England after fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was ruled out due to a hamstring injury on Saturday, further weakening their bowling attack after the loss of captain Pat Cummins.
British media reports said all 10 English players involved with the IPL will hold a meeting with the Professional Cricketers' Association over security arrangements for a potential return to India.
Tournament co-hosts India will be out to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title. The 10th edition of the 20-overs global showpiece event will run from February 7 to March 8.
The Ashes could be decided within days at an Adelaide Oval furnace where England's hopes of wresting back the urn will fire anew or flame out entirely against a strengthened Australia.
Tournament co-hosts India will be out to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title in familiar home conditions next month.
IMAGES from the ICC 2026 T20 World Cup match played between England and Nepal in Mumbai on Sunday
Scott Boland will step up and uncapped Brendan Doggett is tipped for a high-stakes debut to try to shore up the loss of a combined 604 Test wickets of experience.
The 26-year-old returned to action for county side Sussex against Kent last week in a bid to regain match fitness but he only bowled five overs in Kent's second innings due to pain in the elbow.
Archer has not played international cricket since March last year due to an elbow injury, and had a second round of surgery on his elbow in December.
England stayed calm under intense pressure to beat India by 22 runs on a final day of simmering tension and drama in the third Test at Lord's on Monday and move 2-1 up in the series.
Stokes and few others have upset stomach.
Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer will be given every chance to prove their fitness before next year's Twenty20 World Cup.
Dinesh Karthik and Nasser Hussain pointed to a string of missteps -- a dropped catch, a run out, a collapse -- that proved far more decisive than the final day's drama.
Archer has been ruled out of England's two-Test series against New Zealand starting next month due to pain in his elbow
Archer was released by the franchise last week. His name doesn't figure in the list of players who have registered for the IPL auction, set to be held on December 19 in Dubai.
Their last eight Tests in Perth have all been defeats, with the most recent setback a bitter innings and 41-run capitulation in 2017 that saw Joe Root's team surrender the urn.
Gaikwad is out of the entire IPL tournament, CSK Coach Stephen Fleming said on Thursday.
England fast bowler Jofra Archer posted an image of racist abuse he received on social media and called on authorities to deal with the issue properly. The 24-year-old Barbados-born paceman, who helped England win the 50-overs World Cup last year, posted an image of the message he received on Instagram and said he could not understand why someone would make such comments.
Archer underwent four operations in a span of 15 months to regain full fitness. He suffered a freak finger injury in 2021, followed by two elbow operations before treating a stress fracture on his lower back.
Jadeja consolidates as world No 1 Test all-rounder, Abhishek Sharma is top ranked T20I batter
The England pacer will return to the IPL for the first time since the 2020 season which he played for Rajasthan Royals.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the third Test match between England and India at Lord's, London, on Friday.
Sonny Baker's dream moment turned into an absolute walking nightmare after he went at the top of an unwanted record
The T20I series against South Africa will be played from 10-14 September, following the ongoing ODI series where the Proteas hold an unassailable 2-0 lead heading into the final match on Sunday.
Irfan Pathan criticised believes controlling restricting the number of overs sent down by pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah during the Lord's Test proved crucial.
England pacer Jofra Archer will continue to prepare for the Ashes while playing in the IPL, and once the lucrative T20 tournament is over, he will straightaway get into the gruelling five-Test series against Australia, according to his country club coach.
KL Rahul becomes second India batter after Vengsarkar to score more than one Test ton at Lord's
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