- Batter says there is ‘no need’ to worry about Australia’s attack
- Crawley confident despite Test average of 10 in 2021
A Test average of 10 in 2021, completed with two failures in Melbourne, might have dented the confidence of some players but Zak Crawley certainly talked a good game ahead of his second Ashes appearance.
Crawley emerged as one of the brightest batting prospects in England after what appeared to be a breakthrough 267 against Pakistan in 2020 only for a struggle on the turning pitches of India earlier this year, and then issues outside off stump at home, to turn the 6ft 5in right hander’s flow of runs into a mere trickle.
Returning for the Boxing Day Test was always a tall order, not least on a tour without state games and having been bizarrely left out of the England Lions versus Australia A fixture in early December. But though scores of 12 and five followed – the latter during a febrile second evening – Crawley fancies greater rewards lie ahead at the start of 2022.
