• Ben Duckett played a ferocious stroke on Day 1 of the fifth Ashes 2023 Test.

  • Duckett's powerful hit almost handed a dangerous blow to Zak Crawley on his head.

Ashes 2023 [WATCH]: Ben Duckett almost chops partner Zak Crawley’s head with a cracking shot
Ben Dukett hits a cracking shot towards partner Zak Crawley (Image Source:Twitter)

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The much-anticipated fifth and final Ashes 2023 Test commenced at the Kennington Oval in London on Thursday (July 27). The match kickstarted with Australia winning the toss and deciding to bowl first.

Asked to bat first after losing the toss for the first time in the Ashes 2023 series, England’s top-order batters Ben Duckett (41) and Zak Crawley (22) provided the hosts with a decent foundation, adding quick runs at the start. Although both the batters played many exceptional strokes during their innings, the shot that stood out and grabbed everyone’s attention came from Duckett, who almost chopped Crawley’s head with his stroke.

Ben Duckett’s ferocious stroke:

The blazing shot by Duckett was unleashed on the first ball of the fifth over against the fiery Josh Hazlewood when the Aussie pacer bowled an outside-off delivery to the England opener, and he shimmied down the track to smash it straight by making room for himself. Duckett smashed the ball with immense power, and it went like a tracer bullet causing the Australian fielders to flinch in astonishment.

The 29-year-old’s cracking stroke even didn’t spare his partner Crawley as the latter found himself in the line of fire with the ball whizzing past him at an alarming pace. However, Crawley was successful in leaping out of the way and escaping what could have been a dangerous blow to his head. It is worth mentioning that the ball flew off Duckett’s bat with intense ferocity and raced to the boundary in no time.

Here’s the video:

Coming back to the match, the fall of wickets at regular intervals prevented England from capitalizing on some good starts. Nevertheless, Moeen Ali‘s and Harry Brook‘s fiery innings provided the much-needed impetus to the hosts. Ali contributed 34 runs, while Brook added valuable 85 runs to help the home team finish their first innings on a score of  283.  Mitchell Starc was the standout performer for Australia so far, claiming four crucial wickets. Meanwhile, Hazlewood and Todd Murphy chipped in with two scalps each.

Also WATCH: Josh Hazlewood gets rid of Joe Root with a sharp in-swinger on Day 1 of the Oval Test

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About the Author:
VISHWANATH HARIHARAN
Vishwanath Hariharan is Content Strategist at CricketTimes.com. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. From breaking news stories to in-depth features and opinion pieces, he has covered a wide range of topics. Vishwanath is very fond of watching cricket. Like many others, he too grew up watching, playing, and imitating his favourite players of the game. MS Dhoni is like a demigod to him. You can connect with him at vishwanath.hariharan@crickettimes.com and follow him on Twitter & Linkedin.