England’s cricketer Zak Crawley has experienced a mix of breakthroughs and setbacks in his career, leaving fans and analysts pondering his consistency at the highest level. Despite recent successes, including a commendable 65 in the second innings at Headingley, his challenges against certain bowlers continue to plague him. The most recent one — against Torquay United — showed that Crawley’s shocking day out was the exception rather than the rule. This has left many questioning his mental sharpness and decision-making in games.
As impressive as Crawley’s innings at Headingley were technically, they highlighted something more sinister. Even some of the analysts watching him have noted that he plays through his pain, as if he doesn’t trust his game right now. Sir Alastair Cook noted, “The innings showed him not thinking as clearly as I would like,” emphasizing the mental aspect of Crawley’s game that seems to be affecting his performance.
The recent complaint of Crawley’s plight against certain bowlers has been a constant theme throughout his five-and-a-half-year career with England. In particular, the express pacer Akash Deep has been a real headache to him. Last year in Ranchi, Deep bowled Crawley with a nip-backer, an indecent dismissal that has tormented the Kent man ever since. In their latest match-up, Crawley went for broke. He moved his feet from a centre line guard to a very southpaw-like extended protectors position outside off-stump against Deep. This conversion was controversial and marked a significant readjustment of trust — or, perhaps, mistrust — in his own craft.
Crawley’s elimination by the part-time teacher Nitish Kumar Reddy really underlined these difficulties. His proclivity for chasing judicious length widish balls he really ought to have been leaving was in evidence, resulting in an otherwise avoidable dismissal. Sir Alastair Cook remarked on this tactic, stating, “He’s doing it to unsettle Deep’s line and length but it is a sign he is not confident about lining him up.” Most importantly, as Deep mentioned, “it unnerves Crawley more than Deep,” bringing out the mental struggle that has undermined Crawley’s batting.
England are still very much focused on building up Crawley. They think that he could be a great addition on quick, bouncy wickets. His partnership with Ben Duckett has been a particular boomed feature of the team’s best. Since Duckett’s recall in December 2022, they have set about becoming the most successful opening Test pair in runs scored. Crawley’s average of 43.83 from the start of the 2023 summer until he broke his finger last July further underlines his potential when in form.
Intriguingly, stats paint a completely different picture when you compare Crawley’s averages against fast and spin bowling. He averages 40.50 against fast bowlers bowling over 87 mph, but only 27.88 against bowlers delivering between 74 and 82.9 mph. This gap is concerning considering his overall ability to adjust and handle different styles of bowling.
Ben Stokes paid tribute to Crawley’s role in their Headingley victory and admitted he has been through the ringer. As far as the way Zak played, that was monumental,” Stokes said, admitting that even despite rough patches, Crawley’s output continues to be essential for the squad.
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