AUS vs ENG | Twitter and Crawley get deja vu after batter survives tough caught and bowled chance off Starc

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It is rare to see batters repeat the mode of dismissals from their previous outing, and Zak Crawley nearly made that unique list in the second Test against Australia in Brisbane. The England opener played an uppish drive off Mitchell Starc as the ball raced past the outstretched hand of the pacer.

Mitchell Starc had England on the mat after the visitors opted to bat first in the second Test at the Gabba in Brisbane on Thursday. The left-arm pacer picked up two wickets in his first two overs, as Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope went back without disturbing the scorers.

However, Zak Crawley was going all guns from the other end with a boundary off the veteran pacer in his first over and two more off Michael Neser in the fourth. The opener scored the majority of the runs in the first half-hour of play, reaching 25 off just 30 balls, as the visitors moved to 32/2 after eight overs.

With Steven Smith sticking with Mitchell Starc for another over, Crawley was in no mood to slow down. He drove the pacer uppishly before missing the pull shot off a short ball that flew over the keeper for four byes.

In the penultimate ball of the ninth over, the left-arm seamer pushed the length further up outside off stump to tempt the England opener into another drive. And Crawley accepted the gift as he drove the ball back in the direction of the bowler. The ball was in the air as Starc quickly reacted to try and reach the pick cherry. However, it flew past his outstretched left hand and raced to the boundary cushions.

For a moment, Crawley thought he was in danger as the same bowler had produced a stunning effort to dismiss him in the first Test in Perth. But it was not to be here, as the batter fortunately continued his stay in the middle.

Twitter had deja vu with Crawley also getting flashes of his dismissal as he smiled sheepishly at the bowler after the hit.

That smile...

— Symonds (@Symonds716624)

Great one

continues his early wickets streak getting 2 top order batsmen for 0's... But and the great are stitching together a decent partnership and keeping their team in the hunt in this 2nd test match against the . Good to watch!
— Alekh Sangal (@alekhsangal)

Yup

Just tuned into to the Ashes. Death, taxes and Mitchell Starc in the first over huh? At least it’s not Crawley this time lol
— Kanerlove88 ⁶³ 🇵🇸🩷💜💙 (@kanerlove1988)

Victory

Mitchell Starc’s first spell is over. No more wickets lost. England 45-2 after 10 overs. Crawley playing some risky shots though.

🏏
— Concerning Cricket (@leggully)

Nice

England 45 for 2, with Duckett & Pope going very cheaply. Crawley riding his luck, but playing a few pleasing shots. He and Root need to dig in as Starc will return before too long (2 for a few).
— David Buik (@truemagic68)

Predictable

Some things are predictable like clockwork. Duckett & Pope fall for nought, Starc has a ripping start in a pink ball test. But never did I think I’d see Crawley getting oh-so-comfortable out there 😂 🏏
— Ｍｉｓｔｅｒ　Ｃｈａｎｇ (@MeiyangChang)

So well

Zak Crawley Playing So Well. So Much Classy. Owning Mitchell Starc as always
— Aryan Goel (@Aryan42832Goel)

Much better

Much better in terms of discipline is Zack Crawley today, who's mixing up his natural game with the natural ingredients of Test cricket.

Mesmerizing straight drive, on the up to Starc, he moves past 30, has to convert it into a big one.
— Wajeeh Hyder (@iwajeehhyder)

Yes

If anything zak crawley has managed to disturb starc's line & length both! Starc has already tried couple or things vs him, probably that's the way to get him!
— Vibhor Jha (@vibhorjhatweets)

Again