open the ball vs set forward

open the ball

verb
  • To begin operations; to set things in motion. 

set forward

verb
  • To set off, set forth; to start. 

  • To help or assist (a person, project etc.); to promote. 

  • To propose, suggest (an opinion, theory etc.). 

  • To put or carry (something) forward. 

How often have the words open the ball and set forward occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )