Watch: Ben Stokes in awe of Zak Crawley as he begins Ashes 2023 with first-ball four

Ben Stokes and Crawley. (Photo Source : Twitter/@englandcricket)

The highly-anticipated Ashes 2023 commenced with an explosive start on Friday, June 16, as England and Australia locked horns in the opening Test at Edgbaston. England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bat first on a good batting surface.

Australian skipper Pat Cummins chose to spearhead his side’s bowling attack in the historic series. The atmosphere was tremendous at Edgbaston, with the stadium packed with England and Australia supporters.

However, it was the England opener, Zak Crawley, who stole the show, surprising everyone. Cummins bowled the opening ball of the game outside the off-stump offering lip-smacking width to the opener. The 25-year-old England batter drove the ball while on the rise, through the cover point for a sensational boundary.

Consequently, skipper Ben Stokes was in awe of Crawley’s strike and his reaction went viral on social media. England Cricket took to Twitter and shared the video of the all-rounder’s reaction.

“We were all Stokesy there…” ECB captioned the post.

Watch the video:

😅

We were all Stokesy there…

Live clips/Scorecard: https://t.co/TZMO0eJDwY pic.twitter.com/rUEOIO7onJ

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 16, 2023

Crawley scored an impressive fifty as England were 124/3 after the first session

England got off to a steady start, thanks to openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett. Duckett, though, was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood due to a false shot, and Ollie Pope (31 off 44) joined the right-handed batter and put up a 70-run stand. When both batters seemed to be at ease in the middle, Pope was dismissed by Nathan Lyon for playing across the line.

Despite his departure, Joe Root and Crawley kept England’s runs coming. Scott Boland, however, provided a breakthrough for the Pat Cummins-led side by dismissing the English opener, who scored 61 off 73 deliveries, including seven boundaries. Notably, England were 124/3 at the end of the first session.