England opener Ben Duckett scored 167 runs off 132 balls against Sri Lanka at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, and he did it without hitting a single six.

Think about that for a second. In an era where ODI innings are often built on big hits over the ropes, Duckett took the long route. Every boundary he hit was a four. He found the rope 24 times and never once cleared it.

The Sri Lankan bowlers never got a grip on him. Duckett was in control from the start of his innings, and he kept the scoreboard moving through boundaries alone. That is the part that stands out most. Big ODI scores usually come with sixes that change the mood of a match in a single stroke. Duckett’s innings had no such moment, just a steady stream of fours that kept piling up.

Duckett scored 167 runs in 132 balls without a single six, relying entirely on boundaries.

A rare place in the record books. Duckett’s 167 is a special mark for an English batter, and it puts him in a select group. Cricket fans will recognise several names on the list of big ODI scorers who did not hit a six. Andrew Strauss, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Hashim Amla all have big innings in that category. Duckett now sits among them.

The highest ODI score without a six still belongs to David Warner. He made 173 in 2016. Duckett finished six runs short of that mark, which keeps Warner’s record out of reach for now but puts Duckett’s knock firmly in the conversation.

Lahore belongs to Duckett. The Gaddafi Stadium has become a personal ground for the England opener. He has played four ODIs there and scored three centuries, including this one. That record makes him the foreign player with the most ODI centuries at Lahore. For a batter who has yet to play many matches at the venue, that is a remarkable return.

The innings also added to a steady body of work. It was Duckett’s sixth ODI century. Three of those six hundreds have come at the Gaddafi Stadium, which says a lot about how comfortable he feels on this ground. The century was also his second in a row in this series, a sign that the form is not a one-off.

Why it matters for England. England’s batting has needed an anchor who can keep the innings going without relying on the big hit. Duckett showed he can do exactly that. He did not need a single six to put runs on the board, and he did not give the bowlers a moment to settle. Instead he worked through the innings with discipline and timing.

There is also a broader point here about how modern batting is judged. Sixes make headlines and fill highlight reels. Duckett’s innings shows that boundaries alone can build a huge total and a unique record. The 24 fours were not a footnote. They were the entire story of the knock.

Duckett’s name now sits next to some of the biggest names the sport has produced in this particular category. He may not have hit a six, but he left a mark that will be talked about for a long time. The innings also showed that a batter does not need to clear the rope to dominate a match.

For Duckett, the message from this innings is simple. He can score heavily in ODIs with a clear, boundary-based approach, and he can do it at one of the most storied grounds in the sport. For England, that is a useful reminder that their opener is in strong touch and playing the kind of innings that wins attention, even without the fireworks.