Ben Duckett stressed his relief at reaching another Test ton after spearheading England’s response against Pakistan in Multan.
England finished the second day 239/6, trailing by 127, with the Notts opener scoring 114 from 129 balls.
It was his fourth Test hundred, having made 84 in the first match of this series, and 86 in Three Lions’ final game of the English summer against Sri Lanka.
He also made scores of 95 and 63 in the subsequent ODI series against Australia.
“I think people would have seen it was more relief than anything when I got there,” he said.
“It has not felt like I haven’t scored a hundred because I’ve been out of form - I have felt really good for probably six months to a year now, but just haven’t converted those 70s and 80s.
“When Salman [Ali Ahga] came on, I played a filthy slog sweep, but that was more because I didn’t want to nick off to slip.
“It is a mindset thing that I have spoken about before - and it isn’t really something you can coach - but I was more proactive today, looking to reverse sweep on 99 rather than go into my shell.”
His attitude is born out in the stats - nine of his 15 Test half-centuries has come at better than a run-a-ball, only Joe Root has as many as such a rate.
He reverted to his trusted cornucopia of sweeps to apply the pressure - he has scored over 300 runs from the shot since December 2022.
“I commit so much to my sweep that missing it isn’t in my head,” he admitted.
“I remember Younis Khan talking about sweeping, and he spoke about the fact he wasn’t worried about getting out LBW. Hh wanted to take an lbw and bowled out the game.
“That is the way I think - get bat on ball.”
Duckett also reflected on his remarkable record in the subcontinent.
In Multan alone, he has made scores 63, 79, 84 and 114, while he has hundreds in Rajkot and Rawalpindi.
“It is slightly different, this game, to the last three or four I have played here where I’ve faced seam on good pitches,” he said.
“I got my opportunity here a few years ago and I started playing the way I did because that series went well.
“They didn’t know much about me then so it was probably a bit easier - they know my strengths now.
“They tried to cut them off as much as they could when I got to about 20 or 30. I think this will be different when I bat on it in the second innings.”
That difference will be caused by a deteriorating pitch which is in its seventh day of action after being used in the first fixture of the series, too.
Spin was at its most potent in the final session on the second day, as Sajid Khan decimated England’s top order.
With four wickets in hand, Duckett believes the first blows of day three will be crucial in deciding the outcome of the Test.
“I think we will really stress the importance of the first hour tomorrow,” he said.
“Carsey is a very good number eight, then we have Pottsy. We bat all the way down.
“It is important we look to score runs - it is not going to be a draw, and we wouldn’t play for it anyway.
“If, in that first hour, we get as close as we can, we can put the pressure on them. We are 1-0 up in the series, we won the last series 3-0 - they will fight the whole way to make it hard for us but we believe we are always in the game.”
