Ashes 2023 | The Crawley Show - A Batting Sensation in the Making

Zak Crawley has been brilliant against Australia in the 4th Test (Source: AP Photos)

The 2nd day of the 4th Ashes test saw England dominating the Australian bowlers. The architect of that onslaught was none other than Zack Crawley. He is one of the players England has backed due to his ability to play positive and fearless cricket with good technique. Crawley has played 38 test matches so far and has scored over 2000 runs at an average of 31.1 which also includes a highest score of 267. 

With these stats we can see that he has a lot of potential but the average being slightly lower indicates that he has struggled to convert his starts into big scores. This was evident in the first three games as well where he had one half century and a few starts until the 4th test where he scored a magnificent century to keep England in front. With this knock he is England’s highest run scorer with 385 runs at an average of 55 in the series.

Crawley's Unstoppable Century: A Batting Masterclass in the 4th Test

Shot-wise Runs Scored by Zak

The innings played by Zack Crawley was not only a match defining innings but also an innings which is not seen a lot in Test cricket filled with a lot of attacking shots. His innings of 189 runs from 182 balls included 21 fours and 3 sixes. He also had a strike rate of 103.85. Through this innings we can see that even though he has scored his runs all around the ground he has been more dominant on the leg side. 

Most of his runs have been scored off the pull shot through which he has scored 41 runs where the Australian bowlers were trying to test him with the short ball. This is where he took advantage of his tall frame of 6ft and 5 inches to get on top of the ball. He also played a lot of leg glances and glances through mid wicket through which he has scored 20 runs and 26 runs. There were also instances where he walked across off stump to open the field on the leg side as well. 

He also played the hook with proper control getting 14 runs from it. He also used his long reach to his advantage to score straight down the ground and hence made 21 from the straight drive. Even though he had scored most of his runs on the on side, we cannot ignore his off-side game as well where he played some beautiful cover drives which got him 25 runs and worked the ball through third man really well with his late cuts by which he has scored 21 runs.

Conclusion

Overall through this innings Crawley with the ability he has shown throughout this innings shows us that he can be a dangerous player in the future when he gets going and converts his starts. In the first three tests we could only see a glimpse of a player with a lot of potential but in the 4th test we have seen a player who has the attacking ability along with great technique. 

If Crawley can play innings like these more consistently he can be a huge asset for the English side who cannot only score big runs but also put any bowling attack under pressure through his fearless and positive approach to the game. It will be interesting to see how he will grow and mature in the upcoming future for England.