India vs England: Crawley bulldozes his way back

Manchester: An important facet of the Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum reign is the amount of long rope they give to players they trust. Their strategy of aggressive batting, no matter the situation or condition, does come with its fair share of risks and failures are bound to happen. The batters, though, are given lifelines — and plenty of them — as insurance to deploy the high-speed game.

One of the major beneficiaries of this policy is Zak Crawley. The 27-year-old opener walked into the fourth Test under immense pressure, having aggregated just 128 runs in six innings. In fact, his form has been wretched for a while in the build-up to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, with many here — both media and pundits — questioning the continued faith the management has in him. 

Some felt the 124 he scored against Zimbabwe in the game prior to this series meant nothing. There was substance to it as he averaged 8.66 in three Tests against New Zealand (away), 27.80 in three games against Pakistan (away) and 24.25 against West Indies (home) in the series prior to Zimbabwe. Coach McCullum, who believes Crawley is a shade of himself in terms of attacking temperament, reposed the faith in the Kent batter.  

The 65 in the second innings of a successful chase in Leeds vindicated McCullum’s belief. But the ensuing series of poor scores — 19, 0, 18, 22 — sharpened the knives of the critics. Crawley’s one-dimensional smash-and-grab style — thanks to his giant 6’5’’ that gives him more reach as compared to most batters — has a lot of defensive holes, and the Indians ruthlessly exposed him. 

What was weighing Crawley, who has averaged 30.89 in 57 Tests before this game, down was his pre-meditation. Yes, most batters tend to preconceive a way to counter various bowlers, but they also need to have alternate plans. Crawley didn’t have them, which made him a sitting duck, and the Indians just cut him apart. Pressure was building on the right-hander, who was mentored by England’s current director of cricket, Rob Key, to get out of the rot. 

He did so in emphatic fashion, smashing a 113-ball 84 on the second day of the fourth Test to show why on his day he can be such an unstoppable force. He was helped by the Indians, who dished out plenty of freebies, bowling way too often on his legs as well as full outside the off-stump. Crawley pounced on them, flicking and driving with abandon. He looked on course for a century that would silence the external noises but fell short, which nevertheless has amplified the attacking prowess he possesses. 

Crawley admitted he felt pressure following the lean run but was confident all the hard work would pay off at some stage. “I have high standards for myself and I work very hard at my game, and I always want more for myself, and I've certainly wanted more for myself than I've got in the last year or so,” said Crawley at the press conference. “That's just an internal thing, I don't feel that pressure from anyone else. I just feel like I owe it to myself to have a few more good performances, and it makes days like today, it makes practice and tougher times more worth it.”

“And I feel like one of my strengths is that I can hit quite good balls for four, with my height and my reach, and I felt like I hadn't allowed that to come out as much as I'd love to. I felt like this game I just wanted to react and play every ball on its merits, and I feel like I did that a little bit better today.”

Crawley indeed did that. But he really needs to do that more consistently, else talk about his spot in the team will always be there. And pressure too. Even long ropes can’t handle weight beyond a point.