Zak Crawley's quickfire maiden century against Australia was the cornerstone of a dramatic England run-spree on the second day of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford on Thursday.
England reached 239-2 at tea, having scored 178 runs in just 25 overs during the second session.Joe Root was 44 not out, with England just 78 runs behind Australia's first-innings 317 in a match the hosts, 2-1 down with two to play, have to win to maintain their bid for an Ashes series victory.
England's rapid run-scoring was a potential insurance policy against fears forecast weekend rain could scupper their push for a win.Moeen had been in red-ball retirement until the start of this series but was recalled following Jack Leach's season-ending back injury. Moeen luckily edged Cummins past gully for four to go to 3,000 runs before driving his next ball for an elegant boundary.
Crawley went to fifty when he reverse-swept Head for four before sweeping the next ball in more orthodox fashion for six. A more sedate two off Cummins took the 25-year-old Crawley, a standard-bearer for England's aggressive 'Bazball' style under captain Ben Stokes and red-ball coach Brendon McCullum, to a 93-ball century. The Kent batsman's second fifty had come in just 26 balls.
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