England Handed Major Bad Luck In First Ashes Series

England had a solid opening day against Australia, although it could have been so much if lady luck was shining down on them at Edgbaston, in particular on Harry Brook.

The Barmy Army started very brightly at Edgbaston in the opening Ashes Series with widely debated opener Zak Crawley smashing the first delivery for four, which was. a lot better than the last time out when Australia got a wicket on the opening ball.

It was a solid opening partnership from Crawley and Ben Duckett, albeit the latter did end up getting caught after scoring just 12 runs, although he was in a hurry having done so from just 10 deliveries.

England make a solid start on opening day

The biggest disappointment for England was that captain Ben Stokes was at the crease for just eight balls and managed to secure just a single run after a poor shot saw him edge it behind the wickets.

What was even more bizarre from someone so experienced, was that Stokes decided to review the decision, even though it looked very clear to everyone in the ground and on the pitch that he had knocked it behind.

Harry Brook was dismissed in a very strange way! 🤷‍♂️#Ashes #BBCCricket pic.twitter.com/MCsAZXYQIG

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 16, 2023

Australia would have been forgiven for thinking that they’d made a huge breakthrough when Stokes was forced to walk, but what followed was a formidable partnership between Johnny Bairstow and England star Joe Root.

The latter did avoid a scare when he was originally given out for LBW, which was swiftly reviewed by Root and saw the decision reversed, which was a huge sigh of relief for England, but it was a piece of good fortune they deserved.

Harry Brook will learn from Ashes mistake

This is because just as Brook was getting into the groove at the crease, he got himself caught up in a mess and misread a ball and just let it come onto him and spiral up into the air.

What followed, was something that couldn’t be believed by anyone at Edgbaston as the ball went up into the air and with Brook not knowing how far away from his stumps he was, the ball spun off the ground and back onto his stumps, putting him out of the innings after scoring 61 runs from 73 balls.