[Watch] Ben Stokes' Reaction As Zak Crawley Smashes Pat Cummins For a 4 To Kickoff The Ashes
Stokes after the first ball four [Twitter]
The first delivery of an Ashes series is always an event. From Stephen Harmison bowling a wide delivery in the 2006/07 opener to Rory Burns getting bowled around his legs, it's all a part of the folklore now.
On Friday morning, on yet another Ashes opening day, England opener Zak Crawley added yet another moment to the folklore as he drove a harmless length delivery from Australian skipper Pat Cummins past the cover region for a boundary.
England skipper Ben Stokes made it a point in the lead-up that the Three Lions will continue to play in an aggressive manner, and seeing Crawley do exactly the same on the very first delivery of the series, he couldn't help but let out a wry smile on his face.
Watch the video here:
Earlier, England won the toss and on a very placid surface in Birmingham, Stokes had no hesitation but to bat first.
Australia have made one change to their playing XI that beat India in the WTC final last week, with Mitchell Starc making way for Josh Hazlewood.
Hazlewood struck early to send opener Ben Duckett back as Australia counter-punched their way after an aggressive start from England.
At the time of writing, England was 76/1 in 15 overs.
 "Yash Mittal")
