Zak Crawley believed that in any other set up he would have been dropped after he repaid the selectors’ faith in him with a stunning 189 as England moved into a dominant position in the crucial fourth Test on day two at Old Trafford.
At times during the Ashes, England’s batters have come under criticism for their shot-selection and recklessness, but Crawley’s innings was clever.
Having taken 67 deliveries to score his first 50, from then he motored along, at times going at more than seven an over in a 206-run partnership with Joe Root that took the day away from Australia.
Ahead of the series, the pressure was on Crawley, although as someone who spurns social media he might not have been aware of all the noise surrounding his position in the starting XI, but his innings today showed every bit of his shot-playing ability and class.
“It’s fair to say that under any other coach or captain I probably wouldn’t be playing this series. So, to be backed by them gives me a lot of confidence,” the England opener said.
They’ve always said not to worry about being consistent, just to go out and try to win games for England. It would be really nice if we win this game and I’ve contributed to that but there’s a long way to go.”
Crawley is congratulated by Joe Root— (Getty Images)
Even Crawley would not consider it the perfect innings, with a slightly streaky start including an inside edge that went past the stumps when he was on 19, but sometimes a stroke of luck can change the game in cricket.
“It was a lot of fun. I rode my luck at times but played some nice shots along the way and enjoyed those.
“Batting with Mo (Moeen Ali) is always fun, he’s a funny guy and Rooty just takes so much pressure off you when you’re batting. So, yeah, I enjoyed today.”
One shot in particular stood out as exceptional, alongside the textbook cover drives off the back foot, a big six over long on off Mitchell Marsh was as good as any.
“Funnily enough I’ve felt in better touch at other times,” Crawley said, despite scoring his first Hundred since November in Rawalpindi.
“After my hundred, that’s as good as I’ve felt but before that I felt in better nick at other times. I rode my luck a few times and in little periods I felt in really good nick today.
“It wasn’t actually that easy to score at times, which might sound really arrogant.
“But there were times when I was struggling to score and felt like I was going to chip one to cover or something, but I was happy with how I played.
“It was positive, I took a punt against their bowlers but it came off.”
