Zak Crawley, England’s opener, said that he liked the controversy at Lord’s and purposefully played the villain following his 84-run innings, which created the groundwork for England’s good performance in Manchester.
The tension rose on the third evening at Lord’s when Indian skipper Shubman Gill and Crawley clashed over the time it took England batsmen to reach the crease after India was removed. Gill accused England of breaking the spirit of the game by attempting to revive the on-field animosity between the two teams.
“I’ve always appreciated that aspect of cricket, especially when batting. “There’s two of you against eleven, and they’re desperate to get you out, so they’re chirping you,” Crawley.
“Most of the time, I’d probably let it go, but other times, I feel like it’s a good opportunity to get back at them. I adored the eight-minute section. No one stepped over the queue. I assumed everyone was in a nice mood. “It was just competitive cricket, which I really enjoyed,” he said.
I have wanted more for myself: Zak Crawley
Crawley denied deliberately wasting time or waiting for the umpires to intervene during the incident at Lord’s. On July 24, he registered his second half-century of the series, following his century (124) against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge in May. Notably, his 84-run knock was his highest score against a World Test Championship opponent since his 189 against Australia at Old Trafford two years ago.
“No, no. Not at all. I sit in my spot [in the dressing room] until the umpires go out. I saw the umpires go, and I walked out. I wasn’t aware that we were 90 seconds late, but fair enough,” Crawley said.
“I have high standards for myself, and I work very hard in my game. I always want more for myself, and I’ve certainly wanted more for myself than I’ve got in the last year or so. 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. Days like today make the practice and the tougher times worth it a bit more. Obviously, I wanted more runs today, but I feel like I’ve worked hard and earned those runs,” he added.
I was too half-hearted in my batting: Zak Crawley
Crawley admitted that he had been working on staying relaxed at the crease following a string of soft dismissals earlier in the series. Aware of his recent dip in form, he explained that he focused on taking deep breaths before facing each delivery to release tension from his body and maintain composure throughout his innings.
“Sometimes you’re looking for something a little bit too much… It looks too aggressive, but in my mind, actually, I was like, ‘Too half-hearted.’ I was pleased today that when it was there to hit, I put my hands through it. It’s hard: the big crowds, haven’t had loads of runs of late, you get a bit tense. I always play my best when I’m really relaxed,” Crawley said.
“There are little things, little triggers that you have in the middle that make you feel relaxed, whether it be walking slower or anything like that… I certainly didn’t do it as well at Edgbaston. I was absolutely knackered when we were batting there, so it was pretty hard to feel sharp. But I did it much better today, and I was happy about that,” he added.
Ben Duckett takes a lot of pressure off me: Zak Crawley
Crawley eventually fell to Ravindra Jadeja after putting together a 166-run opening stand with Ben Duckett. It marked their fifth 100-plus partnership as an opening pair and their second of the series. Crawley noted that he was more than happy to let Duckett, who scored a fluent 94, take the lead in their partnership.
“He’s a phenomenal player and he takes a lot of pressure off me. He scores at a run-a-ball effortlessly, and it allows you to go about your business. We talk a lot in the middle about how we want to go about it, and obviously our height difference – and being left-right-hand – probably makes it quite hard for the bowlers at times, when we’re both going well at either end,” Crawley concluded.
India
