After they were put in to bat by New Zealand captain Tom Latham, Crawley looked to get England off the mark quickly and hit himself into some form in the process. Facing up to Tim Southee for the first over, Crawley looked to drive straight away, getting a thick inside edge into the leg side first ball.

Taking another two runs off the next ball, the England opener had to wait until Southee's final ball for his next scoring opportunity. He whacked the ball straight back over Southee's head, just getting enough elevation for it to clear the long-off boundary for six. That brought England's total runs for the first over to 10, but also brought Crawley a Test first.

Only Chris Gayle has completed the same feat 🚀 pic.twitter.com/0RD8kqIt4K

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 5, 2024

It's only the third time in the history of a game that a six has been scored in the first over of a Test match. The first two occurrences happened in the same over; Chris Gayle hitting Sohag Gazi for two sixes in a Test between West Indies and Bangladesh in 2012. Given that Gazi is a spinner, Crawley is the first batter in the game's history to hit a six off a seamer in the first over of an innings.

The sixth ball of the first over in the first innings of the match is the earliest any England player has ever hit a six in a men's Test. The previous earliest six was hit my Arthur Milton in 1959, who cleared the rope off the second ball of the second over. Michael Vaughan also hit a six off the second ball of the second over, taking down New Zealand's Chris Drum in Christchurch in 2002. After that, Herbert Sutcliffe hit a six off the fifth ball of the third over of a Test against South Africa at Trent Bridge in 1935.

Crawley's six is also the earliest an England player has ever hit a six in a men's Test innings. Cyril Washbrook hit a six in the first over of the fourth innings of a Test against South Africa at Gqeberha in 1949, but it was off the seventh ball of the over. Eight-ball overs were still being used for that Test match.

Despite the record, Crawley's innings was over shortly afterwards. He was bowled by Matt Henry by a good delivery for 17, becoming the second England wicket of the morning to fall after Ben Duckett was dismissed for a duck. England were in further trouble in the session not long after, Joe Root dismissed by Nathan Smith for three and Jacob Bethell caught behind for 16 less than three overs later, leaving them 43-4.

A win in this Test would give England their first Test series victory in New Zealand since 2008, while a draw would see the final match in Hamilton become a series-decider.

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