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Zak Crawley plays mind games, Pat Cummins fires back in cheeky way

Akshita Patel

Heated moment between Zak Crawley and Pat Cummins [Source: @cricketcomau/X.com]Heated moment between Zak Crawley and Pat Cummins [Source: @cricketcomau/X.com]

The Ashes doesn’t need much to boil over, and Day 4 at Adelaide Oval proved it once again. With Australia setting England a massive 435-run target, the atmosphere was intense, but it was a brief moment of on-field theatre between Zak Crawley and Pat Cummins that truly lit the fuse.

England had just wrapped up Australia’s second innings, dismissing them for 349, but the damage was already done. 

Travis Head had smashed a commanding 170, while Alex Carey added a crucial 72, putting Australia firmly in control. 

Zak Crawley’s time-killing tactic leaves Cummins in splits

When England walked out to bat with just minutes left before lunch, the tension was already sky-high.

Pat Cummins struck almost immediately, removing Ben Duckett with a thick edge to Marnus Labuschagne at slip. 

Ollie Pope managed to get off the mark, leaving Zak Crawley to face the final balls before the break. Sensing danger with the new ball swinging, Crawley tried a familiar trick, which is running down the clock.

He wandered down the pitch, tapped the bat, adjusted his gloves, and did anything to make the lunch break arrive quicker. Pat Cummins noticed. And instead of rushing, the Australian captain returned the favour. 

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Smiling, he slowed things down himself, fiddling with his boots and forcing Zak Crawley to wait. The crowd loved it. So did his teammates. Then came the perfect reply.

Pat Cummins charged in and delivered a cracker of a ball, angling in before straightening sharply past Crawley’s outside edge. Crawley had no answer.

A few words were exchanged, a grin followed, and just like that, the Ashes walked into lunch with tempers flaring and momentum firmly with Australia.

England staring at another Ashes defeat

At the lunch break, England were 5/1 and collapsed to 189/5 later in the day. They still have over 200 runs to chase. And Zak Crawley, after a fighting knock of 85 off 151 balls, got stumped, leaving England reeling at 194/6.

England are already trailing 0-2 in the 5-game series, and a loss in Adelaide would mean the visitors will register yet another humiliating Ashes defeat.