Former England captain Michael Vaughan has called opener Zak Crawley the “luckiest cricketer” he’s ever seen. Vaughan pointed out significant differences in Crawley’s posture and positioning between the first and second Tests of the present series against India. He noted that Crawley appeared more erect in his posture and kept his feet inside the off stump during the first Test in Leeds, but made alterations before the second Test in Birmingham.
Crawley managed only 88 runs in four innings, with one half-century to his name. Vaughan questioned the reasoning behind such changes, implying that inconsistency in method could be impacting his production at the top of the ranking.
“In my time watching, playing for, and covering England, he is the player most fortunate to have won as many caps as he has. “He has to consider himself fortunate to have played 56 games, scoring only five hundreds and averaging 31,” Vaughan wrote in his Daily Telegraph column.
“I’d like to know why, this week, with Bumrah out, he suddenly moved two inches outside off stump in his posture. If you do this, you should be aware that anything outside your eyeline can be left alone. Instead, he got out in both innings by driving with half a bat and keeping his left foot in the centre of the stumps,” Vaughan wrote.
Vaughan also pointed out that Crawley appears to be concerned about the straight ball, particularly those targeting the stumps, which often leaves him vulnerable to lbw dismissals. The former skipper emphasised on the need for consistency from an opener and urged Crawley to contribute more meaningfully at the top of the order.
“That is a mindset issue; he is so concerned about the straight ball, and being lbw or bowled, that he has got out chasing wide balls in his last three innings. It’s bizarre because in Leeds, Crawley had shown what he can do, and that he can be disciplined … Crawley is so exasperating because he has the game. He plays some glorious shots, and at times makes batting look easy. But he has to score more runs at the top of the order. It cannot be that his job is to produce a wow-factor moment once a series,” Vaughan wrote.
England’s performance worries me: Michael Vaughan
Vaughan also conceded his concerns about the overall performance of the England team, noting a sharp contrast between their displays in the first and second Tests. He acknowledged that while England showcased skill and excellence in the opening match, things completely backfired for the hosts in the second Test at Edgbaston.
“If we are honest, England has been absolutely hammered this week … It was a performance that worried me greatly. I fear they used the first match as absolute evidence of how to play Test cricket. They showed great skills in that win, but there was also a lot of fortune involved. They turned up here and thought they should do everything the same way, and it has backfired,” he concluded.
India
