WATCH: Ben Stokes At A Loss For Words As Zak Crawley Hits First Ball Of Ashes 2023 For Cracking Boundary

Dixit Bhargav | 16/06/2023
WATCH: Ben Stokes At A Loss For Words As Zak Crawley Hits First Ball Of Ashes 2023 For Cracking Boundary

England opening batter Zak Crawley hitting first ball of Ashes 2023 for a four left his captain Ben Stokes at a loss for words at Edgbaston today. In the rich history of this iconic rivalry, batters have mostly been seen playing a defensive stroke or even leaving the ball to kick-start a long five-match series. That being said, Crawley made his and England’s intentions clear under the Bazball era from the word go.

Not just a regular or an unconvincing shot for a boundary, Crawley nailed a cracking cover drive to put on display a statement in front of Australia captain Pat Cummins. Crawley, however, practiced what is normalcy for this format by leaving the next two deliveries outside the off-stump.

With a lot of criticism around his position on the back of below par form, Crawley has justified head coach Brendon McCullum‘s immense faith in him by scoring a brisk ninth Test half-century in the first session of the series. Having hit seven fours in the session thus far, Crawley would be looking to convert this start into a substantial knock especially on a pitch which is likely to favour the batters.

Ben Stokes At A Loss For Words As Zak Crawley Hits First Ball Of Ashes 2023 For Cracking Boundary

Sitting in the dressing room wearing a bucket hat, Stokes behaved like any other fan upon being witness to the sight of a first-ball boundary in Birmingham on a Friday morning. Utterly shocked by Crawley’s shot, Stokes’ reaction following a smile provided a self-explanation to the right-handed batter’s shot.

Stokes, who didn’t bat or bowl in a one-off Test against Ireland at Lord’s earlier this month, would be looking forward to both bat and bowl in this match. Having not batted or bowled in a representative match in the last two months, fans will certainly be waiting for the 32-year old player to do his thing here.

Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
Australia Ben Stokes England Pat Cummins The Ashes 2023 Zak Crawley

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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