Ashes 2025-26: Did England think about declaration on Day 1 in Pink-ball Test? Zak Crawley answers

England finished Day 1 of the second Ashes Test at The Gabba in Brisbane on 325/9 in 74 overs. In the pink-ball affair, Ben Stokes had won the toss and opted to bat first. Some fans and experts were expecting the Three Lions to declare in the latter stages of the final session when the ball was swinging prodigiously.

Stokes had done something similar on the opening day of the 2023 series between these teams in Edgbaston, when he declared with Joe Root on 118, giving England four overs to bowl at Australia before the close.

However, Stokes did not declare this time and the move turned out be fruitful as the tourists added 56 runs in the last six overs of the day. England finished on 325/9 in 74 overs, as Joe Root smashed an unbeaten 135, his first century on Australian soil. However, he was given great support by Jofra Archer, who smashed an unbeaten 32 off 26 balls, batting at No. 11.

England opener Zak Crawley, who had scored a crucial 76 earlier in the day, said that the tourists did not discuss about a declaration, as they felt that they were in a win-win situation. Crawley explained that while England added important runs for the last wicket, they would have also been happy had their innings ended earlier and they could bowl a few overs to the Aussies in favourable conditions.

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"There was no talk of a declaration. We were just saying, 'Go really hard,' and it was a win-win: if it comes off, then we'll get 50 runs like we did, or if you got out, then we could have a crack at them under lights," Crawley said after the end of play on Day 1.

"They're valuable runs and it would've worked out either way… We were pretty happy with [being bowled out for] 260 and having an hour at them at that point, to be honest. We were quite optimistic about that last hour, and then it turned out we batted for all of it. It felt like it was a great chance for us either way - with bat or ball - to seize that last hour," he added.