London on 22 August : Former England captain Nasser Hussain has claimed that although opener Zak Crawley could be an excellent player when he is playing well but those “wow moments” are very few and far between and that he should be given one more opportunity to demonstrate his skills.England Test coach Brendon McCullum has said he might believe in the shaky Crawley and use Crawley in the second Test in South Africa at Manchester from August 25, stating that one must be thinking about the “overall package”.
Crawley has been in an extended slump in form at the top of the table, with the 24-year-old opening batsman scoring only 9 and 13 against Proteas in the first Test at Lord’s the other day, the match that England lost by 12 and an innings within three days.Crawley is not yet hit a century for his nation in 10 innings in the summer.
Hussain believed that Crawley was receiving contradictory instructions from coach McCullum regarding how to bat at the top of the order.
“I actually sensed that Zak Crawley in both in the second innings of his match against India at Edgbaston and at Lord’s (in the Test against South Africa), was trying to keep the ball more than he tried to play later and learn from the way the openers of the opposition have been playing.
To me, it’s an example of mixed message from McCullum to say that he and England must be more aggressive in the second Test at Old Trafford in the second Test,” said Hussain in his column for the Daily Mail.
“If Crawley plays, England must be very and clear in what they expect from him.For the sake of me, I’m not able to figure out McCullum’s statements about his desire to not be consistent.You surely want the sameness from your playersthat’s what you want and that’s the kind of consistency that England receive from players like of (Joe) Root and Jimmy Anderson.
“As it stands this attitude is giving Crawley an excuse to get away with it.He may think that’maybe today’s simply not the day for me.My style of play isn’t well-suited to be a consistent player’.Instead, his goal is to do all he can to get through difficult conditions and difficult situations when it’s not the day for him.Test match cricket is about making an impression even when it’s tough and an effort,” opined Hussain.
Hussain claimed he will offer Crawley the benefit of the doubt to play in the second Test at Old Trafford, given that playing first on Lord’s wicket in the first Test was about as “difficult as it gets”.
“I can see the reason England remain with Crawley.He is a wow player when he’s hitting well.But the problem is that those wow moments are getting fewer and further away from now, and he’s currently averaging 18.6 in his last 18 Tests.I would recommend him to play one more time today, because Lord’s defeat in the toss was as difficult as you can be against these four superb South African seamers.It’s going to be a lot easier than that at Old Trafford,” said Hussain.
akm/
