Ashes | Twitter in awe as Crawley takes sprawling stunner to bring Carse redemption after horror start in Adelaide

Australia were dealt a major blow just a few minutes ahead of the third Ashes Test at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday with skipper for the first two Tests Steve Smith ruled due to sickness. The discarded Usman Khawaja, undergoing a rut and having missed the last game with fitness concerns, thus returned to the lineup in unusual circumstances but the hosts chose to stick with their pre-decided opening pair of Travis Head and Jake Weatherald. The duo repaid the faith with a boundary barrage early, particularly against Brydon Carse who struggled with his length. The right-arm quick sprayed the shiny new Kookaburra short and wide far too often, conceding three boundaries in his third over, and needed a divine intervention from Zak Crawley to save face.

After struggling for rhythm from around the wicket through his first four overs, whicih included three new balls, Carse finally decided to make the switch over in the final over of his spell. He began by going full and wide to Head, who confidently drove at the ball but seemed to be a bit taken aback by the length. The doubt was just enough to give the ball some air, and it was all Crawley needed at silly point. The tall opener went flying to his left, his hand extended towards the ground to scoop the ball up before it could hit the deck at near full stretch in an instinctive take for the ages. Crawley was ecstatic and wheeled away in jubilation while his compatriots chased equally joyous, even as Head had to resign himself to a trot back to the dugout.

The wicket fittingly brought Khawaja to the crease against a relatively new ball still, sending Twitterati spinning with narratives.

Wow!

interesting!

Carse strike!

Whata catch!

Unreal!

Yes!

Stunning!

Brilliant!

What a grab!

Yeah!