Zak Crawley produced an instant Ashes classic as England seized control of the must-win fourth Test with a barnstorming display on day two at Emirates Old Trafford.
Crawley crashed and smashed his way to 189 runs from 182 balls as the hosts bullied Australia with a heavy dose of ‘Bazball’ bravado.
After bowling the tourists out for 317 with two early wickets, England wiped out the deficit in just 55 overs and finished 67 ahead on 384 for four.
The speed of their assault was motivated partially by the threat of bad weather over the weekend and Crawley was the ideal man to lead the way. He unloaded 21 fours and three sixes, repaying the rock-solid faith Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have shown him.
The 25-year-old’s inconsistency has attracted criticism and he arrived at the crease with an underpowered Test average of 28.65. But he has a maverick quality that appeals to the current regime and could not have picked a better stage to spread his wings with a fourth ton.
At 2-1 down with two to play England have no option but to win this game, regardless of the coming rain, and Crawley has given them every chance.
Moeen Ali (54) and Joe Root (84) offered lively support, with Harry Brook and Stokes unbeaten overnight.
England were into their work swiftly, James Anderson removing Pat Cummins with the first ball of the morning and Chris Woakes completing a well-deserved five-for to end the innings.
Crawley started as he meant to go on, brushing the first ball of the innings off his hip for four, and refused to let Ben Duckett’s third-over dismissal knock him off course.
He weathered a couple of early scares, edging inches in front of slip on 12 and given out lbw on 20 before successfully calling for DRS, but held his nerve to reach the lunch break intact.
Moeen’s promotion to number three came with low expectations – not least from himself – but he proved a perfect ally, sharing the burden with a flurry of four boundaries in eight deliveries.
From a promising foundation of 61 for one, England proceeded to play two outrageous hours of adrenaline-fuelled cricket in the afternoon session. In the space of 25 overs they scored 178 runs, with a run-rate of 7.12 that would not have been unacceptable in a T20.
Crawley was a conundrum Australia simply could not crack. A couple of inside edges skated dangerously close to his stumps and more than one thick outside edge climbed over the cordon, but even his errors raced through to the ropes.
When he did find his timing, he looked imperious. He showed Cameron Green the full face of his bat as he stroked elegantly down the ground, walked across his stumps to open up fine-leg and drove through cover with style.
He even made sure to hammer home Australia’s folly in leaving out a specialist spinner. When part-timer Travis Head took a turn, Crawley reverse swept his first ball for four and then stooped to launch the follow-up into the stands.
Moeen fell for 54, well caught at midwicket by Usman Khawaja to give Mitchell Starc a second success, but a partnership of 121 represented a job well done.
Crawley and Root ensured the momentum did not go with him, the latter immediately negating Australia short-ball tactics with some expertly judged hooks.
A delicious cover drive took Crawley within one blow his hundred and he got there off just 93 balls with a lobbed cut shot that is unlikely to be found in any coaching manual. The crowd roared him on, but the reaction on the balcony, from team-mates who have repeatedly rallied to his defence in the lean times, was even more telling.
Root ensured the fun kept coming, dipping into his bag of tricks to reverse ramp Mitchell Marsh over for six. The tea interval did little to revive the away side’s flagging spirits, Cummins unable to rouse his side by word or deed.
He gave himself a four-over burst at the start of the evening and shipped 30 including back-to-back straight fours that took Crawley to 150. At one stage Cummins attempted to review an lbw appeal that had hit Root’s bat, making the signal with comic timing as the umpire signalled no-ball. When England picked up three overthrows for some sloppy backing up at the bowler’s end, it was no surprise to find the captain was the culprit.
England took the lead in fitting style, Crawley stepping inside the line and blazing Marsh high over wide long-on for six. The quickest double hundred in Ashes history was beckoning when Crawley came to an abrupt end, dragging a short ball from Green back into his stumps.
He walked off to a well-earned ovation, having restated the mercurial skills which have made him a mainstay of the Bazball era.
Root was well placed to follow him to a ton but found himself bowled by one that shot through low from Josh Hazlewood. Brook and Stokes put on a calm 33 before stumps but more fireworks are likely as England look to move things forward on day three.
Carsley casts the credit to England's players after debut win
Lee Carsley insisted his England players "have to take all of the credit" after winning his debut match as England manager.
Interim boss Carsley oversaw a 2-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in their Nations League fixture at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
It marked the first time Ireland have lost a home match against England since May 1964.
The former England Under-21s manager, however, was keen to credit his players after first-half goals from Jack Grealish and Declan Rice saw England over the line.
"The lads have to take a lot of credit, all of the credit. I think we've showed we've got some real talent and we can be really pleased with the clean sheet as well," he told ITV.
"I thought it was good in parts. You've seen some of the things we've tried to do."
Carsley, who represented Ireland as a player, was vindicated in recalling Grealish after his omission from the Euros squad in the summer as the Manchester City playmaker doubled the lead in the 26th minute.
"I thought they [Rice and Grealish] took their goals really well. Really well-worked moves and brilliant finishes. I think, moving forward, they can both add a lot more goals to their game," he said.
"Jack definitely doesn't have anything to prove to us, we can see his quality, but today will have done him the world of good, getting another goal for England and hopefully he can continue that form."
The new England manager also opted to start Anthony Gordon on the left wing after the Newcastle United winger had struggled for minutes on the pitch under Gareth Southgate at Euro 2024.
"On a really dry sticky pitch, it's not ideal for dribblers but I thought Anthony was a real threat. He's carried on his form from last season and he looks a really dangerous player," enthused Carsley of Gordon, who got all three of his shots on target and played two key passes.
The manager played his part in ending Ireland's four-game unbeaten run against the Three Lions on home soil (W1 D3), though England could have made their dominance pay more.
"I think you've got to give Ireland credit as well, they are very resilient, they closed the gaps and our space maybe became a bit wider [in the second half]," reflected Carsley.
"We found it a little bit more difficult to get through them but at 2-0 we were quite comfortable."
Complacency not an issue in England display, insists Stone
Olly Stone denied complacency played a part in England's performance on day two of their final Test against Sri Lanka at The Oval.
England were bowled out for 325 after 69 overs, as Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis helped the tourists reach 211-5 at stumps.
Stone was the pick of the hosts' bowling attack, taking the wickets of Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal while also running out Dimuth Karunaratne.
De Silva, however, was crucially dropped by debutant Josh Hull, as he ended the day on 64 runs from 106 deliveries alongside Mendis (54).
And while England handed Sri Lanka a potential route back into the final Test, Stone was confident that on another day, they could have been out of sight.
"I wouldn't say we were complacent. We've always said about taking the positive option, sometimes you can sit there and take a few blows," Stone said.
"If you put a few chances away it can come out differently. On another day it goes another way, and we get a few on the board."
As it had done on the first day, bad light was a constant threat, resulting in fast bowler Chris Woakes delivering four balls of off-spin.
England had started brightly with the ball in hand, working through Sri Lanka's top order before being stopped in their tracks by De Silva and Mendis.
But the bad light inside The Oval played its part, with the tourists able to chip away at their target after tea.
Stone acknowledged the difficulty of the conditions but had words of praise for Hull after taking his first wicket on his debut.
"It was too dark for our seamers but we tried to take the positive option. We thought we could take wickets with our spinners," Stone said.
"We feel we have the bowlers in any conditions but Sri Lanka played well.
"Hull has been brilliant. He hasn't looked nervous - he has been smiley, he has enjoyed it.
"I know he will be better for taking that wicket and hopefully he can take more in the morning.
"There is no greater job in the world. Going out there with a smile on our face, enjoying it.
"It doesn't feel like international cricket, you are nice and relaxed and out there with your mates."
Grealish back firing for England after 'worst summer of his life'
Jack Grealish returned to the scoresheet for England after ‘the worst summer of his life’ saw him miss out on a place in the Three Lions' Euro 2024 squad.
Grealish netted the second goal in England's 2-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in their Nations League clash at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
It was just his third-ever goal for the England senior team and his first as a starter.
The Manchester City attacker was selected to start by interim head coach Lee Carsley in his first match at the helm, after falling out of favour towards the end of Gareth Southgate's time in charge.
"Over the summer, it was one of the worst summers of my life because you can't not see everything that is happening in front of you,” he told ITV after the match.
“It was difficult but it's given me something to bounce back."
Grealish delivered a display fitting of a player with something to prove.
While he was on the pitch, no England player won more fouls (4) or created more chances (2) than the 28-year-old.
"I need to start playing regularly, scoring goals, and that's what I did today. I'm still not 100% fit but I'm getting there so from a personal point of view I'm happy,” he added.
"Going to the fans at the end and hearing them sing my name, listen there's no better feeling than playing for England.
Everyone will say the same thing, especially in games like this when you know the whole nation is going to be watching.”
Declan Rice opened the scoring for England in the 11th minute before assisting Grealish to double the lead 15 minutes later.
Both players had previously represented their opponents, and faced a tough reception in Dublin.
"It was what me and Declan expected. We have nothing bad to say, we both enjoyed our time [playing for Ireland]," Grealish said.
"I certainly did and I have a lot of Irish in my family, so there's no bad blood whatsoever from my side," said Grealish.
The victory marks the first time England have won consecutive meetings with the Republic of Ireland since March 1985.
The Three Lions were winless in seven against them between these two runs (D5 L2).
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