Zak Crawley sets frenzied tone for Ashes with brilliant first-ball blast

A hush falls before the first ball, and Edgbaston is quieter in those last moments than it will be again until the place is empty in the evening. Some of the fans here bought tickets for this match nine months back, and have been waiting for it through the autumn, winter, and spring. Now it’s almost here, and the atmosphere in the final seconds is eager, and apprehensive. All eyes are on the middle, and the volume in the Hollies Stand has dropped to a murmur. Nobody knows what’s going to happen, but everybody’s excited that we’re finally about to find out.

This year’s Ashes has felt especially unpredictable, the Australians have clearly had no real idea what to expect from this England team, and it isn’t all that much more obvious even to their own supporters. Nobody knows how their easy-come, easy-go approach will hold up against an Australian squad that includes the world’s three top-ranked Test batsmen, four fine fast bowlers, and the most prolific finger-spinner in history. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. Nobody really knows anything, except that it will be entertaining.

Pat Cummins is done limbering up, and is ready, at the end of his run. Zak Crawley has marked his guard and is watching him, motionless in the main, body cocked and bat poised. Cummins tosses the ball from his right hand to his left, then passes it back again as he takes his first stride in towards the crease, two, three, four, five, six more follow, the crowd are cheering now, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, and roaring as he gathers himself into his action, lands on his front foot, brings his arm over and sets the 2023 Ashes under way.

The story goes that the first ball of the Ashes can set the tone for the whole series, and sometimes it