England’s Zak Crawley set the tone for the Ashes on the first morning of the first Test, as he scored a boundary off the first ball of the series. Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bat first at Edgbaston, hoping his openers would fire his team to a great start. As England looked to score quickly, the cameras panned to Stokes on the balcony in shock. The fast-scoring start was dampened by the early dismissal of Ben Duckett for just 12 runs.
The first ball of an Ashes series usually sets the tone, as was seen in the past with Steve Harmison’s wayward delivery in 2006 before a 5-0 whitewash in Australia. Similarly, Rory Burns lost his leg stump to Mitchell Starc 18 months ago before suffering another defeat. Crawley’s shot was met with a roar from the 25,000 fans at Edgbaston.
This sudden burst of scoring was a significant development, as England was desperate to make an impression in this Ashes series. Stokes was hoping for a much-needed victory after they had failed to win a home Ashes series since 2005. England’s batting line-up struggled in the World Test Championship, with no player averaging over 35, and only Joe Root scoring a century.
England’s attempt to get off to an impressive start through their openers shows that they are taking the Ashes series seriously. This sense of urgency was reflected in the surprise on Stokes’s face, as he watched Crawley set the tone with that boundary. It remains to be seen if England can maintain this momentum and execute their strategies effectively throughout the series.
