England and their Bazball approach to Test cricket is no stranger to any ardent cricket follower these days and Ben Stokes’ side gave away a statement of intent to Australia as the two sides locked horns in the first Test of Ashes 2023 at Edgbaston on Friday, June 16.
Stokes won the toss and elected to bat first, and for those wondering whether England would persist with their attacking Bazball approach, it was clear from the first ball itself when opener Crawley smashed the first ball from Australian captain Pat Cummins towards the boundary ropes.
Normally in Test cricket, one would expect the batsmen to start slowly, but not this England team, they like to put pressure on opposition bowlers straightaway.
Live Score ENG vs AUS 1st Test Day 1 Ashes: Josh Hazlewood Removes Ben Duckett, England Suffer Early Blow
Cummins delivered a full and wide delivery outside the off stump, as per the textbook, a majority of batsmen would have left the ball but not Crawley. The opener swung his arm and notched a boundary through extra cover to draw a huge roar from the jam-packed crowd at the venue.
The very first ball of an #Ashes series.Stand and deliver, Zak Crawley ????
That view from the Hollies ???? pic.twitter.com/rcaBQSQHV0
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 16, 2023
England captain Stokes’ reaction was the one that caught the eyes, even he himself was not expecting Crawley to start with a boundary and after watching his compatriot’s intent, Stokes couldn’t hide his emotions as he let out a cheeky smile.
Watch Ben Stokes’ million-dollar reaction as Zak Crawley smashes boundary on the first ball of Ashes 2023
????We were all Stokesy there…
Live clips/Scorecard: https://t.co/TZMO0eJDwY pic.twitter.com/rUEOIO7onJ
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 16, 2023
After the first over, Crawley then repeated the trick again as Josh Hazlewood came to bowl the second over and got the same treatment, the first ball dispatched towards the boundary.
It was Bazball in full swing from England early against Australia however they also suffered an early blow as Ben Duckett ended up giving away an easy catch to Alex Carey as Cummins’ side drew first blood in the first session of Day 1 itself.
Duckett was batting at 12 off 10 and was looking promising but he failed to read the line from Hazlewood and ended up giving away a leading edge on a nothing shot, Carey did the rest and it was Australia in the driving seat.
Comments
0 comment