Despite scoring 407 runs in response to India’s 587 in the second Test at Edgbaston, England has set an unwanted record in Test and First-Class cricket.
Harry Brook and Jamie Smith performed well after England struggled at 84/5, facing a possible follow-on. Smith and Brook rebuilt England’s innings with a 303-run partnership. Smith scored 184, the highest score by an English wicketkeeper in this format. Brook, after missing a century in the first Test, scored 158 off 234 balls in this inning.
England reached over 400 runs, but most of the batters didn’t score many. Six of the 11 batters were out for a duck as the Indian bowlers showed their talent on a slowing pitch. England is now the first team in Test and FC cricket to score over 400 runs with six or more players getting out for a duck. The team with the next highest total with five ducks was Bangladesh, who scored 365 against Sri Lanka in 2022 with six players dismissed for zero.
Smith and Brook scored 342 of England’s 407 runs, with Joe Root’s 22 being the next highest score. Six players—Ben Duckett (0 off 5 balls), Ollie Pope (0 off 1 ball), Ben Stokes (0 off 1 ball), Brydon Carse (0 off 4 balls), Josh Tongue (0 off 2 balls), and Shoaib Bashir (0 off 2 balls)—were out for a duck in the first innings.
After England was bowled out for 407, the visitors responded well in the second innings but lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early. They finished Day at 64/1 with a lead of 244.