Crawley should take inspiration from Sachin's 241: Michael Vaughan

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has urged under-fire opener Zak Crawley, to take inspiration from Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar's patience-laden knock of 241 against the Australians at the SCG back in 2004.

Crawley suffered yet another failure on the second afternoon of the Edgbaston Test as he once again tried to drive with hard hands and away from his body to give catching practice in the slip cordon.

The Kent opener has been regularly getting out in the same manner, and Vaughan believes that he should learn from the legendary Tendulkar, who curbed his bread and butter cover-drive at SCG in 2004 after repeatedly getting out driving.

"Sachin Tendulkar had a tough tour to Australia in 2004 when the ball was nipping around, and he was getting out playing the drive. What did he do? He nullified the drive and scored 241 in Sydney. Crawley has not tried that yet. He has not tried to put away the drive for two hours while the ball is new," said Vaughan in his The Telegraph column.

Crawley's average as a Test opener is now down to 22.2 from the 32 innings. The worst ever average for a men's opener who has played at least 32 innings. Vaughan believes that Crawley must find a way to counter the opposition's ploy; otherwise, he will keep getting exposed at the elite level.

"Ultimately, he has not hit the opposition with another method. If you keep doing the same things, you will be found out repeatedly because bowlers are not stupid," Vaughan said in The Telegraph.

He is currently averaging 11.53 in home Tests since hitting that brilliant 267 against Pakistan two summers ago, and, according to Vaughan, time is running out for the young opener.

"The problems come when someone struggling like Zak Crawley is backed too much. Eventually, you have to recognize there is a problem. Since his 267 against Pakistan in 2020, Crawley has averaged 11 in English conditions without one fifty," he said.

"Averaging 11 in international cricket does not warrant a place in the team. Your currency is runs. Not that you are a great lad or a good team man," Vaughan added.

Crawley managed just 87 runs in 6 innings against New Zealand earlier this summer, and with him registering another failure in the ongoing Test, the second innings will be extremely crucial for his long-term future in the format.