4 hours ago
11
It is easy to recall the thrill of the moment. Pat Cummins ran in to bowl the first ball of the 2023 Ashes at Edgbaston and Zak Crawley leaned into it, outside off stump, and drove it through the covers for four.
On the England team balcony, Ben Stokes grinned a broad grin and Glen Rae, the England team doctor, laughed and applauded. Crawley's opening salvo was a bold, beautiful symbol of Bazball's fearless approach.
It was a stroke that sought to set the tone for the series and banish the memory of moments like Steve Harmison's first ball wide at the Gabba in 2006 that was so wide it was caught by Andrew Flintoff at second slip. In that moment at Edgbaston, excitement reigned and Crawley was the personification of positivity.
But Crawley had gone into that series with an average of 28.26 from his first 34 Tests and his place in England's side under intense scrutiny and two years on, not an awful lot has changed.
Last week, former England captain Michael Vaughan called Crawley 'England's luckiest cricketer ever' in the midst of a newspaper article that used words such as 'frustrating', 'exasperating' and 'infuriating' to describe the Kent opener.
There was more cause for criticism on Thursday, too. Just before lunch on a sweltering day at Lord's, Crawley was caught behind off a quite brilliant ball from Nitish Kumar Reddy.
It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of Zak Crawley - and easy to recall when he hit the first ball of the 2023 Ashes for four
Crawley has been the the personification of positivity of the ongoing Bazball approach
But he went into the 2023 Ashes under scrutiny, and, two years on, not a lot has changed
Crawley had chiselled out 18 from 43 balls and if there was no shame in losing his wicket to such a beautiful delivery, England's former captain, Sir Alastair Cook, pulled apart an innings he called 'chaotic' and 'crazy'. He took aim, in particular, at Crawley's varied batting position in relation to the popping crease. 'Today,' Cook said, 'he looked confused.'
Thursday's dismissal followed two disappointing innings from Crawley in England's Second Test defeat at Edgbaston and even though the evidence of those can be countered by a fine, patient half-century in the First Test at Headingley, the statistics make difficult reading for those who insist Crawley is still worth his place at the top of the order.
In his 56 Test matches, Crawley averages just over 31 runs. It puts him 42nd, and dead last, of a list of openers who have played more than 50 Tests. Herbert Sutcliffe and Len Hutton are at the top. Crawley is at the bottom.
The statistics emphasise that the Brendon McCullum-Stokes axis has stayed loyal to Crawley long beyond the point where many Test regimes would have bade him farewell and turned to fresh alternatives.
Crawley has become one of those sportsmen whose importance to his team transcends statistics. There is a feeling he is worth more than the runs, or lack of them, that he provides.
His place in the team is partly about the balance he gives it and particularly the balance he gives to the little and large partnership with Ben Duckett. It is about the way he contributes to what the Australians would call the 'mateship' within this England side. He is part of an eco-system that McCullum and Stokes do not want to disturb.
This England set-up is renowned for its commitment to its players and its reluctance to discard its starters. Some call it loyalty, others describe it as stubbornness but most feel that Crawley will keep his place for the Ashes whether his struggles in this series continue or not.
There are manifold reasons for that. He is a wonderful stroke-player, a beautiful batsman to watch and a cricketer who fits the profile of the aggressive shot-maker McCullum and Stokes want at the top of the order.
There is no shame in getting out to the delivery from Nitish Kumar Reddy, but his innings before wasn't great
Sir Alastair Cook (second left) pulled apart an innings he called 'chaotic' and 'crazy'
Thursday's dismissal followed two disappointing innings from Crawley in England's Second Test defeat at Edgbaston
This England set-up, though, is renowned for its commitment to its players and its reluctance to discard its starters
Crawley is also showing signs he can adapt his style so that it complements Duckett's shot-making. He scored 65 off 126 balls — the slowest of his 22 Test half-centuries — in that innings at Headingley last month while Duckett cut loose at the other end.
'The way Zak played was huge,' Stokes said after Crawley's contribution to another famous England victory at Headingley. While he can contribute handsomely to a momentous triumph like that, Stokes appears still willing to forgive him his weaknesses.
England appear committed to taking him to Australia in the winter, too. There is still a feeling that the partnership with Duckett and the different challenges the combination of both men will pose to Australia's bowlers makes them a formidable pairing that may yet trouble their opponents.
Crawley is the constant at the top of the order in the England teams which have recorded a series of record-breaking run chases in recent years. He is an elegant driver of the ball, a fluent, confident player of the pull-shot and a fine judge of quick bowling, all attributes that should serve him well in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
In that 2023 Ashes series that Crawley began with that first-ball boundary, he scored a magnificent 189 in the Fourth Test at Old Trafford to put England in control in a match they were set to win until the intervention of the Manchester weather.
'It's fair to say that under any other coach or captain, I probably wouldn't be playing this series,' Crawley said then. Maybe he would say the same today but while Crawley contributes to the feel-good eco-system of this England team, a flourish here and there of his elegant carving keeps him safe from being discarded.
