IIt seems a bit far off now, a bit anyway, that this Ashes series was billed, among other things, as a referendum on Zak Crawley’s England career. The tour he was groomed for. The hidden threat in his central one-year contract offer. This was a chance to justify the tightrope walking of recent years, to perhaps answer the eternal question: is Zak Crawley actually any good?
As other things happened, other warning lights flashed and other elements of England’s collective failure cracked more urgently. Shoaib Bashir, the project spinner, who was plucked from social media for this tour, is in the 12 for Sydney. He hasn’t taken a wicket in a real match since July. Good luck honey!
Meanwhile, Crawley is preparing to play his 64th Test, 10th on the all-time list for England’s opening matches. He has an average of 31. At the start of the tour he averaged 31. He looks better than 31. He always looks better than 31. In Australia he managed to score a pair in the first Test, but still finishes as England’s top scorer heading into the fifth. Although on the current tour this is a variation on the highest very small people, the nicest snicko discussion, the most luxurious high-end TNT sports broadcast segment.
Crawley also averages 31 in this series. This is Crawley math. He will always average 31, feast or famine. It is his destiny to remain unwaveringly himself. For some, Crawley’s identity will always be associated with the idea of favor, entitlement and indulgence. But there have been far more selfish English batters than this. A more favorable figure: Crawley has been part of 30 England Test wins, just one behind Michael Atherton but in 52 fewer matches.
This time there was variety. In Adelaide, Crawley batted with subdued bounce for four hours on a fourth-day pitch. In Melbourne he produced a classic Zakball-jaunty 37 in the fourth innings chase, an innings that included the shot of the series, with the six in a row coming up long on with easy grace just as the match was just slipping away from Australia, a victory that will go down as Bazball’s pyrrhic endgame.
In Sydney, Crawley plays at his home, a place where he has spent a lot of time, including that rare thing, a record-breaking stint in Sydney-level cricket, where the English generally come to suffer, learn and lick. A score here would confirm that this has been a good tour for Crawley, that his own run in the Test team will go further than whatever happens with the current management.
Two days later, speaking to the media from the windowless press dungeon of the SCG, he sounded calm, collected and full of paths yet to be taken. Press conference Crawley is definitely post-bazball these days. At the SCG he was all dead and soft hands.
Would a 3-2 defeat make a big difference to the atmosphere of the tour? “It may not go our way, but if we can put in a good performance this week I think it will show a lot about us.”
Was the Melbourne chase a game changer? “I felt like we had some clarity on that pursuit… When you chase a score like that, it gives you a lot of clarity on how you’re going to play.”
Did he have a good series? “Obviously I would have liked to have a few bigger scores than to change the course of a few games. Hopefully I can do that this week and contribute to a win.”
Okay then. What does Matthew Potts look like? “Every time I meet him he impresses me. He has the heart of a lion, a lot of skill and if he gets the nod this week he absolutely deserves it.”
Is he inspired by his 77 here four years ago? And is a zebra a horse with stripes, or is a horse a normal variant of a zebra?
“I feel like I really enjoy playing cricket in Sydney, so hopefully I can lean on that and create more memories.”
Is he a leader on this team? And where is the universe expanding, if the universe is both expanding and infinite? How does infinity expand?
“I just try to lead by example, go about my business and stay on my path. I know what my role is and just try to do it the best I can.”
There was at least a glimpse of the shoot-from-the-hip Crawley, the man who just wants to chase more, who thinks 3-2 would make a good series score, when asked about batting against spinner Todd Murphy, who may be playing at the SCG.
“Whoever is playing, I think that’s the mantra of our team, to try and put pressure on people. Todd is a very good bowler, but I imagine we’ll try to put some pressure on him, as we would with any of their bowlers.”
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