England opener Ben Duckett reaches 3,000 Test runs milestone

England opener Ben Duckett completed 3000 Test runs on SaturdayDuckett the 31yearold lefthanded opener achieved the milestone during Englands fourth Ashes Test a Boxing Day affair at MelbourneIn a runchase of a modest 175 runs Duckett crossed the 30run mark for the first time in the series scoring a 26ball 34 with four boundaries and a six at a strike rate of 13077Now in 42 Tests he has scored 3005 runs at an average of 4006 and a strike rate of 8644 including six centuries and 16 fifties in 78 innings and a best score of 182In the ongoing Ashes series Duckett has been less than subpar having made just 133 runs across eight innings in four Tests at an average of 1662 with a best score of 34His offfield controversies has not helped him either as the England and Wales Cricket Board ECB is investigating the verification of a video showing him apparently drunk and struggling to find his way back to the team hotel during the teams break to Noosa following a thumping loss in the second Test at BrisbaneComing to the match England won the toss and opted to bowl firstJosh Tongue 545 took Englands firstever Boxing Day Test fivewicket haul at MCG as Australia were skittled out for 152 runs in 452 overs with Michael Neser 35 in 49 balls with seven fours and Usman Khawaja 29 in 52 balls with two fours being the top scorers for AustraliaNeser also shared a halfcentury stand with Cameron Green 17 before a run out triggered another collapse ending in an alloutEngland was bundled out for 110 in 295 overs in their first innings with Harry Brook 41 in 34 balls with two fours and two sixes and Gus Atkinson 28 in 35 balls with three fours and a sixA mix of Englands Bazball approach failing yet again and the pitch being absolutely unplayable for batters gave Neser 445 and hometown hero Scott Boland 330 easy wicketsEngland trailed by 42 runsIn their second innings Australia failed to make an impact once again pointing to the pitchs venomous and treacherous natureOnly Travis Head 46 in 67 balls with four boundaries and Steve Smith 24 in 39 balls with a four crossed the 20run mark as England bundled them out for just 132 runs in 343 oversAussies led by 174 runs setting an easy 175 to win for England Brydon Carse 434 and skipper Ben Stokes 324 were the top bowlers for EnglandEngland ended the second session at 772 needing 98 to winThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever