Ashes 2023 I Bazball in full swing! England's stunning declaration has Aus on backfoot

Sitting on the balcony outside England’s dressing room, even Ben Stokes looked surprised when Zak Crawley hammered the first ball of the Ashes series through the covers for four.
A few hours later, Joe Root had the audacity to reverse-ramp Australia pace bowler Scott Boland over the boundary.

Then Moeen Ali flicked Pat Cummins for six off his hips. Root repeated his trick shot for another six against Cummins.

England stayed true to its Bazball approach on Friday and underlined its confidence by daring to declare at 393-8 after Root’s 30th test century on a rousing opening day at Edgbaston.

In the four overs, England gave itself to a probing bowl, Australia went 14 without loss by stumps and opener David Warner survived his test nemesis Stuart Broad, who opened the attack. Warner was 8 not out and Usman Khawaja on 4.

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Root reached his fourth Ashes ton with a single against spinner Nathan Lyon to the delight of the raucous crowd. Root was stopped on 118 not out, including two sixes against Lyon in the final over before the unorthodox declaration by England captain Stokes.

Root and tailender Ollie Robinson, 17 not out, looked comfortable enough to have taken England past 400, though Australia was set to receive the new ball after two more overs.

Jonny Bairstow scored a 78-ball 78 and Crawley hit 61 as England raced along at more than five runs an over in a successful start to its toughest test in the year-old Bazball era. It all added up to England’s highest Ashes total at home since 2015.

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Lyon also enjoyed a good day, taking 4-149 from his 29 overs in hot and sunny conditions on a batting-friendly pitch to extend his overall test tally to 491. Three entertaining sessions saw Australia get on top before England rallied each time with key partnerships, including 70 runs for the second wicket between Crawley and Ollie Pope, and 121 runs between Root and Bairstow which lifted England from 176-5 to 297-6.

It still looks like an evenly balanced contest with Australia 379 runs behind but boasting the top three ranked test batters in Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and Travis Head.

England was 124-3 at lunch with 54 singles and 12 fours and 240-5 at tea. Former England player Kevin Pietersen suggested Bazball affected Australia from the get-go.

They’ve set a field for all the bluff, for all the chat,” the BBC pundit said. “It’s fantastic to see Australia so defensive.

Australia set mostly defensive fields after losing the toss on an excellent pitch to bat on. Cummins said he would have also batted first.

The strangest dismissal of the day ended another useful partnership for England, this time 51 runs for the fourth wicket between Root and Harry Brook (32).

Brook won’t want to watch a replay of his dismissal, not that he was looking the first time. Lyon bowled Brook when the batter’s thigh pad sent the ball looping into the air and out of his sight before dropping right behind him and spinning back onto the stumps. Brook could only grin before walking off.

Australia earlier gained a psychological edge when seamer Boland dismissed Crawley off the last ball before lunch.

Australia chose Josh Hazlewood at the expense of pacer Mitchell Starc and the seamer repaid the vote of confidence by claiming the first wicket of the series with England on 22. Ben Duckett went for 12, caught low behind by Alex Carey. Brook brought up England’s 150 in the 33rd over with two runs from a would-be boundary against Boland which was athletically stopped by Travis Head right on the rope, drawing cheers from the crowd not for the stop but Heads tumbling afterward.

Brook hit another four two balls later as England threatened to go into full Bazball mode with two of its most naturally talented batters. But he had a narrow escape right after when Head dropped a catch at deep backward point after seemingly misjudging how far the ball would carry. That earned Head even more cheers from the crowd.

Bairstow brought up his 24th test fifty in only his second test since breaking his leg in a golf-related accident last year.

Ali, who has come out of retirement to cover for injured spinner Jack Leach, showed his allround credentials on his home ground, hitting a rapid 18 with a six and two fours.

He was out stumped very easily so after advancing down the wicket to try and smash Lyon.

Australia has not won an Ashes series in England since 2001 but entered the game as the newly crowned world test champion after beating India on Sunday.

It hammered England 4-0 in the last Ashes series in 2021-22, meaning Australia needs only to draw the best-of-five contest to keep crickets famed urn.

England has won 12 of its last 17 tests with its carefree approach under Stokes and coach Brendon (Baz) McCullum. It paid off Friday but this still remains its biggest test yet.

A moment’s silence before the game paid tribute to victims of a knife and van attack in Nottingham, England, including two cricket-loving students.

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