Mitchell Starc had England reeling early after the visitors chose to bat first in the second Test at the Gabba in Brisbane on Thursday. The left-arm quick struck twice in his opening two overs, removing Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope before either could trouble the scorers.
Despite the early setbacks, Zak Crawley counterattacked from the other end. He cracked a boundary off Starc in the pacer’s first over and followed it with two more off Michael Neser in the fourth. In the opening half-hour, Crawley was responsible for most of England’s scoring, racing to 25 off 30 balls as the visitors moved to 32/2 after eight overs.
With Steven Smith persisting with Starc, Crawley showed no intention of toning down his aggression. He lofted an uppish drive off the veteran quick, then misjudged a pull shot that sailed over the keeper for four byes.
On the penultimate delivery of the ninth over, Starc pushed the length fuller outside off, tempting Crawley into another ambitious drive. The opener accepted, sending the ball back towards the bowler in the air. Starc reacted instantly, stretching out his left hand in an attempt to snatch the return catch.
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For a split second, the chance looked possible, but the ball skimmed past Starc’s fingertips and sped to the boundary. It was a close call—one that momentarily halted Crawley, who knew the same bowler had plucked a stunning caught-and-bowled to dismiss him in the first Test in Perth.
This time, though, luck favoured Crawley. The narrow escape allowed him to continue his innings, offering England a flicker of stability amid the early strikes.