Crawley blitz puts England in command

The opener hammered 189 off 182 balls to spearhead the home team's response to Australia's first-innings total of 317

In four years of being an England Test opener, Zak Crawley has floundered more than flourished. In his 37 appearances going into the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford in Manchester, the 25-year-old had scored 1,920 runs at a subpar average of 28.65 with just three centuries in 69 innings. These numbers should not pass muster for an opening batter of a top Test nation.

England's Zak Crawley celebrates after reaching his century. (Action Images via Reuters)

But if Crawley still continues to open the batting for England, it's because he perfectly embodies the batting approach endorsed by coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes. That was evident off the very first ball of this Ashes series, when he cracked a glorious drive for four through the cover region to set things off. Not to be consumed by batting averages or personal milestones, he seems to relish entertaining the paying public.

That he certainly did on Thursday, clobbering a breathtaking 189 off 182 balls to spearhead England's response to Australia's first-innings total of 317. His century — off 93 balls — is the second fastest ever at Old Trafford. By the end of Day 2 of the fourth Ashes Test, England were in pole position — at 384/4 with a lead of 67 runs — to level the series. The 206-run partnership off 178 balls between Crawley and Joe Root was responsible for the dejected faces in the Australian camp.

Crawley's innings was far from chanceless though. He was given out leg-before on 20 off Cameron Green's bowling, but a review showed that the ball was missing leg stump. Countless times, he played and missed. On a few other occasions, expansive drives narrowly evaded the hands of the Australian fielders.

But that's to be expected with an approach of this nature. When it comes off, it can change the complexion of a game and make a bowling attack — even one that has Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins operating in tandem — look listless.

By his standards — his career strike rate was 60.99 coming into this Test — Crawley was watchful until the lunch break on Day 2. While he did attempt the odd extravagant drive, he was mostly playing at balls that were close to his body. It meant that he reached 26 off 46 balls by the end of the opening session. But all that changed in the exhilarating phase between lunch and tea, the opener throwing the kitchen sink at even a smidgen of width and seeing what comes of it. His second fifty took just 26 balls as England smashed 178 runs in 25 overs for the loss of just one wicket in the second session.

While Crawley batted briskly against all the Australian pacers, he was daringly dismissive of part-time spinner Travis Head. He welcomed Head into the attack by reverse sweeping his gentle off-break for four to bring up his half-century (off 67 balls) before depositing him beyond the midwicket boundary for a six off the very next ball.

Even when the Australian pacers resorted to a wide line outside off-stump in the quest to curtail his scoring, Crawley didn't relent. In addition to those spanking cover drives, Crawley routinely shimmied down the track and employed his wrists to whip the ball through the leg side. Once he went past his century, Crawley even began taking the aerial route down the ground.

At the other end through a majority of Crawley's innings was Root, denting the morale of the Australian bowlers with an assortment of cover drives, flicks and reverse scoops.

During the course of Crawley's knock, he also became the highest run-getter in the series with 385 runs at an average of 55. His effort on Thursday aside, he has scored one half-century and got a few starts in this series. His contributions validate McCullum and Stokes's persistence with the youngster from Kent.

Crawley, of course, has a long way to go in his career, but days like Thursday excite onlookers because he is so starkly different from English openers of the past. For a country that has had a long history of dour and defensive batters at the top of the order — the conditions usually merit caution — Crawley’s gung-ho approach has the potential to be pathbreaking.

But for that, he will have to be a lot more selective in his shot-making. If he can achieve that balance, especially on surfaces where playing through the line may be fraught with risk, he will perhaps flourish rather than flounder on a more regular basis.