ENG v PAK 2020: Zak Crawley's epic double ton, stand with Jos Buttler break Test records 

Crawley scored a magnificent 267 to help England push towards an impregnable position in the third Test.

By Kashish Chadha - 23 Aug, 2020

Zak Crawley's outstanding double hundred after coming into bat at No.3 in the third and final Test of the series against Pakistan didn't just help England post an insurmountable total of 583/8 (declared) in the first innings, but also saw him break a few records along the way. 

The 22-year-old, whose best Test score before this was 76 and was averaging 31 at the first-class level, struck an unforgettably good 267 in not-so-easy batting conditions in Southampton. 

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Crawley is a rare English batsman with an "uncomplicated technique", as former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out, and someone who uses his height to good effect in order to get on top of the bounce and takes long strides to counter spinners, which is what ex England captain Michael Atherton beamed about him.

His 359-run partnership with fellow centurion Jos Buttler (152) is now the highest ever fifth-wicket stand for England in Test cricket. It equalled the fourth-highest all-time fifth-wicket stand by Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim in New Zealand in 2017 and fell 18 runs short of surpassing the great recovery act by Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman in 2001 against Australia.

In a list featuring Ramnaresh Sarwan, Graeme Smith, Brian Lara, Zaheer Abbas, Rohan Kanhai, Gary Sobers, Hanif Mohammad, Jackie McGlew, Len Hutton and Don Bradman, Crawley is the 11th man to score a Test 250 before the age of 23. 

His 267 is the tenth-best score by an English batsman in Test cricket and second-highest for his country this century behind Alastair Cook's 294 against India in 2011. 

Crawley is also now the youngest English Test double centurion since David Gower in 1979. 

(With inputs from Indian Express)

By Kashish Chadha - 23 Aug, 2020

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