Former England captain Nasser Hussain on Saturday (July 2) termed Zak Crawley as a “gifted lad” and hoped that the opener will make the most of his ability going forward.
Crawley endured yet another failure in the first innings of the rescheduled fifth Test against India at Edgbaston. The England opener fell for 9 as he went for a loose drive on a full-length ball pitched outside the off-stump from Jasprit Bumrah and was caught at third slip by Shubman Gill.
The 24-year-old also struggled in England’s 3-0 Test series win over New Zealand earlier this month, registering scores of 43, 9, 4, 0, 6 and 25.
“You can’t go back to the 90s where England kept chopping and changing. People feel more comfortable if they have the backing and have been given a long run but your only currency runs and he keeps getting out the same way. I think he is a real test of the McCullum and Stokes brand of cricket," said Hussain on Sky Sports during the rain interruption on Day 2.
“Crawley is in charge of his own career and you don’t want to be that gifted lad that played some lovely shots, you want to be the gifted lad that made the most of your ability. Bairstow, for example, has been positive in his last three innings but not reckless, while there is a difference between opening and batting at No 5 in England. You would hope there is a little more in this coaching regime, where they say ‘the percentages were against you today’," he added.
Former England opener Michael Atherton also endorsed Nasser Hussain’s views on Zak Crawley.
“The captain and coach have to back their players but the question is for how long? Eventually, the currency runs. Crawley’s dismissal today was more about length than line.
“I would say the ball today was not necessarily a driveable length when the ball is moving, it is a defend or leave length. But England want players to take the game on. Stokes has made a clarion call to county cricketers saying they have to play this way to get into the team," he said.
Asked if Crawley should hold back his attacking instincts as an opener, Atherton remarked, “This may be an old-fashioned view. But, in the times, when conditions are not in your favour, I think you have to find a way of getting through it, to then get to a point where conditions are in your favour. That is what Crawley is struggling to do."
“If you think of his magnificent double hundred against Pakistan in 2020 - which I am not taking anything away from at all — it was made on a beautiful batting pitch. He played brilliantly and I don’t think you can play like that and not be a player but you are not always going to have beautiful batting pitches."
(With IANS inputs)
