Zak Crawley scored a sensational 189 runs as England finished day two on 384-4; Joe Root contributed 84 runs and Moeen Ali 54; Watch day three live on Sky Sports Cricket on Friday; Build-up starts at 10.15am with the first ball at 11am
Friday 21 July 2023 06:07, UK
Zak Crawley's sensational 189 runs from 182 deliveries powered England to 384-4 and a lead of 67 on day two of the fourth Ashes Test at Emirates Old Trafford.
Chasing 317 set by Australia and with one eye on the forecast of some dismal weather later in the week, Crawley led from the front, 12 fours and a six bringing up a remarkable maiden Ashes century in just 93 deliveries.
The first half of one of the great Ashes innings was alongside Moeen Ali (54) who put in the best showing of a No 3 so far in this series, frustrating the Australian bowling attack before eventually falling to a 'ripper' Usman Khawaja catch from Mitchell Starc's (2-74) delivery, he and Crawley sharing a partnership of 121 runs from 152 balls.
After Moeen's groundwork, a fearless Joe Root (84) was then allowed to let loose, he and Crawley adding an eye-watering 178 runs from 25 overs in the afternoon session, Crawley anchoring the innings and moving from 22 at the lunch break to 132 at tea in an extraordinary session of cricket.
By the evening session England trailed by just 78 runs and the partnership got firing once again, Pat Cummins (0-93), Travis Head (0-48), and Mitchell Marsh (0-57) left floundering with Crawley's dismissal by Cameron Green (1-40) and Root's dismissal by Josh Hazlewood (1-62) the only breakthrough's in a day to forget for the visitors as England enter day three with a 67-run advantage and six wickets to spare.
England's plan for the morning session was to quickly take Australia's final two wickets and Jimmy Anderson (1-51) and Chris Woakes (5-62) were the ones to strike, Cummins (1) falling to the first delivery of the day from Anderson before Hazlewood (4) finally gave Woakes his five-for after a no ball saw his earlier dismissal of Starc (36) revoked.
The threat of heavy rain lingers over the weekend so, with time of the essence and Ben Duckett (1) falling early to Starc, Crawley and England's experimental No 3 Moeen joined forces to move England to 61-1 at lunch, the latter bringing up a landmark 3000 Test runs, to go with his 200 Test wickets, not long before the break.
England's successful review in the morning session kept Crawley at the crease after he was given out lbw on just 20, replays showing Green's delivery was bypassing leg stump, and what an integral moment that turned out to be.
Following lunch, the Crawley and Moeen partnership only got stronger, both passing the half-century mark and bringing up the 100-partnership before a stunning Khawaja diving catch from a Starc delivery ended Moeen's innings.
With Root then joining Crawley at the crease it started raining fours as they put on a show in a relentless session of cricket, the England opener sprinting to his century while a 54-run partnership in 34 balls left Australia stunned and 178 runs worse off.
After tea they continued in majestic fashion and Root sealed his half-century with an incredible reverse scoop after just 45 deliveries. Crawley then made history as he secured the fastest 150 ever at Emirates Old Trafford with a run-a-ball showing before smacking a Marsh delivery for six to give England the lead.
However, just a few balls later an incredible 189-run innings was ended as Crawley was bowled by Green, the crowd erupting into rapturous applause as he walked off, Root then falling to Hazlewood's incredibly low delivery five overs later.
Harry Brook (14) and Ben Stokes (24) saw out the remainder of the day to leave England on 384-4, a bad day getting worse for Australia as they now wait to hear news on Starc's fitness after he suffered a shoulder injury late on while fielding a Brook drive, forcing him to leave the field of play.
Despite many wondering if Stokes would declare due to the threat of rain forecast on Saturday and Sunday, he kept the momentum going, relying on his batters to maximise their chances of winning in what looks set to be a rain-reduced game.
Watch day three live on Sky Sports Cricket on Friday. Build-up starts at 10.15am with the first ball at 11am. Stream The Ashes and more with NOW for £21 a month.
