Twitter Reactions: Bazball takes off in Manchester as Zak Crawley and Joe Root pile on the misery

Young Englishman Zak Crawley faced a lot of criticism in the last couple of years for being a flop in the longest format of the game. The team management, however, did not care much about the outside noise and backed him throughout and are now enjoying the fruit. Notably, Australia could not add much to their tally on Day 1 as the visiting side posted 317 runs on the board, which did not look like it was enough, given the conditions at Old Trafford.

The Ben Stokes-led side, however, did remarkably well with the bat. Despite losing his opening partner Ben Duckett rather early, Crawley showed a lot of temperament as the Aussie bowlers looked clueless at one point. Batting at number three, Moeen Ali, too, showed his class. The cricketer was not having a great time in the ongoing Ashes 2023, and due to Ollie Pope’s unfortunate injury, he was sent above the order, but the cricketer did not disappoint.

He built a very crucial 121-run partnership with Crawley, which shaped England’s momentum with the bat. After Ali got out scoring 54, former England skipper Joe Root came out to bat and showed his sheer class in the middle. The 32-year-old looked flawless till the time he was present in the crease and eventually scored 84 runs off 95 deliveries.

The Bazball philosophy was in full swing in Manchester as the Aussie bowlers looked frustrated. All the batters were scoring runs at a really quick rate, especially Crawley, who hit 189 runs off just 182 deliveries. Courtesy of his phenomenal knock, the home team looked terrific on the field, and after his dismissal, Harry Brook and Ben Stokes took matters into their own hands. Both cricketers looked very defensive towards the end of Day 2, as England did not want to lose any wicket towards the end of the day. Nevertheless, they are leading by 67 runs and will be hoping to extend that and put pressure on the Pat Cummins-led side on Day 3.

Here's how Twitter reacted:

8,500 people singing the Great Escape.

Magical 😍#Ashes pic.twitter.com/Ifhow9h5KW

— England's Barmy Army 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) July 20, 2023

📜 𝑯𝒆'𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒕 📜

Zak Crawley surpasses Mike Denness' 188 at the MCG in 1975 to record the highest Ashes score from a male Kent batter 🕷️🕷️🕷️ pic.twitter.com/p06p7Mqn11

— Kent Cricket (@KentCricket) July 20, 2023

Special innings .. Zac Crawley has just produced one of the most entertaining Ashes tons .. #Ashes 👍👍

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) July 20, 2023

First fifty - 67 balls.
Next fifty - 26 balls.

Zak Crawley has put on a masterclass in the Ashes! pic.twitter.com/X9u7DKGC6Y

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 20, 2023

178 in 25 overs in the session. More than a hundred of them to Crawley. Wonder how we'll look back on it at the end of the series.

— George Dobell (@GeorgeDobell1) July 20, 2023

Zak Crawley becomes the first player in the history of cricket to master the Tactical Inside Edge pic.twitter.com/mX4aA1Ituc

— What is Zak Crawley doing? (@ZakCrawleyFan) July 20, 2023

As good a knock as i’ve seen from an opener in a long, ling time. On the verge of being dropped, his career in peril, Crawley cane up with a stunning century that has out England in top. Shows what a captain’s faith in a player can inspire

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) July 20, 2023

3000 Test Runs + 200 test wickets, Mooen Ali has quietly gone about his business... # Ashes 2023.. # Eng vs Aus..

— vishal (@vishalvalecha89) July 20, 2023

McCullum and Stokes have a magical vision, nobody gave a chance to Mooen Ali. He not only scored a crucial 50 but also took the wicket of Labuschagne, solving the No 3 problem for England all along. #TheAshes

— Ova¡s (@Ovais_) July 20, 2023

Joe Root is surely going for Sachin's test record isn't he? pic.twitter.com/7vkolH5Sv3

— Heisenberg ☢ (@internetumpire) July 20, 2023

Ben Duckett singing the anthems between Broad and Crawley again, poor man 😭#Ashes pic.twitter.com/XEBBXhYpUN

— England's Barmy Army 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) July 19, 2023