The recent years have seen young Englishman Zak Crawley come under heavy fire for failing to perform well in the game’s longest format.
The team management, on the other hand, paid little attention to the outside uproar and supported him throughout. They are now enjoying the fruit. The visiting team scored 317 runs on Day 1, which did not appear to be enough given the circumstances at Old Trafford, but Australia was notably unable to add much to their total.
But the team that Ben Stokes was captain of performed exceptionally well with the bat. Despite losing his opening partner Ben Duckett very early, Crawley displayed great calm, while the Australian bowlers at one point appeared to be completely lost. Moeen Ali demonstrated his talent when batting at position three. The cricketer was not enjoying himself during the current Ashes 2023, and because of Ollie Pope’s unlucky injury, he was sent above the order. Nevertheless, the batsman did not let everyone down.
He and Crawley created a critical 121-run partnership that influenced England’s batting momentum. Former England captain Joe Root walked out to bat and displayed his utter class in the middle after Ali was dismissed after reaching 54. Prior to entering the crease, the 32-year-old’s form was perfect. He ended up scoring 84 runs off 95 deliveries.
Bazball
The ethos was in full force in Manchester as the Australian bowlers appeared to be having trouble. All of the batters were producing runs at a very fast clip, but Crawley blasted 189 runs off just 182 pitches. Because of his outstanding performance, the home team had a great field appearance. After he was dismissed, Harry Brook and Ben Stokes intervened on their own. Day 2 came to a close with both players appearing extremely defensive because England did not want to lose any wickets before the end of the day. On Day 3, they will look to increase their lead and put pressure on the Pat Cummins-led team as they lead by 67 runs.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
8,500 people singing the Great Escape.
Magical 😍#Ashes pic.twitter.com/Ifhow9h5KW
— England’s Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) July 20, 2023
📜 𝑯𝒆’𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒕 📜
Zak Crawley surpasses Mike Denness’ 188 at the MCG in 1975 to record the highest Ashes score from a male Kent batter 🕷️🕷️🕷️ pic.twitter.com/p06p7Mqn11
— Kent Cricket (@KentCricket) July 20, 2023
📜 𝑯𝒆’𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒕 📜
Zak Crawley surpasses Mike Denness’ 188 at the MCG in 1975 to record the highest Ashes score from a male Kent batter 🕷️🕷️🕷️ pic.twitter.com/p06p7Mqn11
— Kent Cricket (@KentCricket) July 20, 2023
Zak Crawley becomes the first player in the history of cricket to master the Tactical Inside Edge pic.twitter.com/mX4aA1Ituc
— What is Zak Crawley doing? (@ZakCrawleyFan) July 20, 2023
Zak Crawley becomes the first player in the history of cricket to master the Tactical Inside Edge pic.twitter.com/mX4aA1Ituc
— What is Zak Crawley doing? (@ZakCrawleyFan) July 20, 2023
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