Zak Crawley is highly likely to play in 2nd Test against South Africa, starting on August 25 in Manchester.
England head coach Brendon McCullum has made it clear that they are not going to drop struggling opener, Zak Crawley, despite his string of poor performances with the bat in recent Test cricket.
Crawley could manage only 9 and 13 in the opening Test of the three-match Test series at Lord’s, where South Africa crushed England by an innings and 12 runs inside three days to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
The 24-year-old hasn’t scored a half-century in his last 14 innings, which forced many to call for his omission from the England Test side. However, McCullum said things can’t go like this.
Brendon McCullum was quoted as saying by the BBC: “That’s not how I think. We want to keep giving guys opportunities, then their skill and talent can come out. We have to be really positive around the language we use with him and to be really consistent with the selections around that, to keep giving guys opportunities.”
He added, “Not only does it build loyalty from guys in the side, but it also builds loyalty from guys on the outside because they know when their opportunity does come they will be afforded the same loyalty.”
The head coach also put Crawley’s match-winning ability over consistency to justify his faith in the underfire opener.
McCullum signed off by saying, “We have some players that have been put in those positions because they have certain skillsets. I look at a guy like Zak and his skill set is not to be a consistent cricketer. He’s not that type of player. He’s put in that situation because he has a game which, when he gets going, he can win matches for England.”
(With Reuters Inputs)