Zak Crawley falls on stroke of lunch as Australia hit back in Ashes opener

NEW DELHI: Australia made a strong comeback by taking three wickets before lunch, leaving England at 124-3 at the interval on the first day of the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
Zak Crawley was dismissed for 61 just before the break, with Australia displaying admirable bowling performance on a seemingly docile pitch despite losing the toss.
The recently-crowned World Test champions, Australia, made a significant change to their lineup, omitting Mitchell Starc and bringing back Josh Hazlewood for the first match of the five-match series.
The opening ball of the Ashes has gained psychological importance in recent series, marked by memorable incidents such as Steve Harmison's wide delivery in 2006 and Mitchell Starc demolishing Rory Burns' leg stump in the previous Ashes encounter 18 months ago.
However, on this occasion, it was England who struck first, as Zak Crawley elegantly drove Australia captain Pat Cummins' opening delivery through the covers for a four.
The crowd of 25,000 spectators responded with a thunderous cheer. Crawley continued his positive start by hitting a boundary off Josh Hazlewood's first ball, guiding the ball through square leg.
England has enjoyed success in Test cricket recently, winning 11 of their last 13 matches. Their aggressive approach, often referred to as 'Bazball' in tribute to coach Brendon McCullum's nickname, has been centered around rapid run-scoring.
On Friday, England raced to 22-0 off just 21 balls, displaying their intent from the start of the match.
Australia, however, hit back when Ben Duckett (12) was caught flat-footed and cut a Hazlewood delivery low to wicketkeeper Alex Carey.

Crawley counter-attacked as he drove off-spinner Nathan Lyon and Boland for resounding boundaries.
Lyon, however, had Ollie Pope lbw for 31 on review with a quicker ball as he moved to within 12 wickets of 500 in Tests.
Crawley then completed a sparkling 56-ball fifty including six fours -- a reward for the faith shown in the talented but inconsistent opener by captain Ben Stokes and McCullum.
But off what became the last ball of the lunch, Boland produced a superb delivery that leapt off a length and brushed Crawley's glove.
Marais Erasmus initially ruled not out but the experienced South African umpire's decision was overturned on Australia's review.
Boland had unusually expensive figures of 1-34 in 6.4 overs for the morning session, with England now looking to star batsman Joe Root (20 not out).
England are bidding for a first Ashes series win since 2015, while Australia aiming for a first Ashes campaign victory in England in 22 years.
Before play started Friday, both sets of players -- all wearing black armbands -- observed a minute's silence in tribute to the victims of a knife and vehicle rampage in the central English city of Nottingham this week.
Three people were stabbed to death, including teenage students Barnaby Webber and Grace Kumar, both of whom were keen cricketers.
(With AFP inputs)