In a peculiar turn of events, England batsman Harry Brook fell victim to an unusual dismissal during the first Test of the Ashes 2023 against Australia at Edgbaston. Brook, who was batting on 32, experienced an unfortunate moment as the ball took a nick off his bat, hit his body, and ricocheted into the stumps, dislodging the bails.
What made the dismissal even more bizarre was the reaction of the Australian players. After Brook nicked the ball, all of them eagerly went for the catch, but none of them came close to it. Their efforts were in vain as they lost sight of the ball, which veered back and struck the stumps. The incident unfolded on the second ball of the 38th over, with Brook partnering with Joe Root in a 50-run stand. Their aim was to guide the hosts beyond the 200-run mark when disaster struck.
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Brook found himself facing Nathan Lyon’s delivery—a straightish ball. Attempting to play a shot towards the leg side, the ball grazed the edge of his bat. Australian keeper Alex Carey made an effort to catch the ball but completely lost sight of it as it deflected off the batter and collided with the stumps.
A freak dismissal.
Live clips/Scorecard: https://t.co/TZMO0eJDwY pic.twitter.com/cIUQaANJ2x
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 16, 2023
Commenting on the dismissal, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting expressed his astonishment, stating, “Desperately unlucky. I have seen many modes of dismissals but not one like that.”
On the other hand, England captain Ben Stokes chose to bat first after winning the toss. However, his team lost opener Ben Duckett early, with Duckett managing just 12 runs off 10 balls.
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Following Duckett’s dismissal, Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley forged a solid partnership of 71 runs for the second wicket. However, their progress was halted when Lyon dismissed Pope with an lbw appeal. Later, Scott Boland, chosen over Mitchell Starc in the Australian lineup, proved his worth by removing the dangerous-looking Crawley, who had reached 61.
At the end of the first session, England had reached a score of 124/3. Although they began the play on a promising note, they lost momentum as Australia made a roaring comeback, seizing the opportunity to regain control of the game.
