Legendary England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott lambasted Zak Crawley after repeated failures in the ongoing Test series against India. The English opener has scored just 128 runs in the three Tests at an underwhelming average of 21.33. His poor form has often put added pressure on Ben Duckett to take charge against the Indian bowlers. The right-handed batter has often been criticised for getting out to similar dismissals - chasing wide deliveries and failing to build on promising starts.
Crawley's recent performances have sparked debate in the English media, with several commentators questioning his continued selection and labelling him the "luckiest player" to still be part of the squad.
Boycott also criticised the English opener for his patchy form in recent matches and pointed out the recurring pattern in his dismissals throughout the Test series.
"How many more chances is Crawley going to get? He has learned nothing in his 57 Tests. A waft in the first innings caught behind and a front-foot drive in the second innings to a wide sucker ball caught at gully. It was just a replay of too many of his dismissals. Time to go. Five hundreds and an average of 31 is not good enough," Crawley wrote in his column for the Telegraph.
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The English legend also said that, given Crawley's current performance, the Australian pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood will be raring to go at him in the Ashes later this year.
{{/usCountry}}The English legend also said that, given Crawley's current performance, the Australian pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood will be raring to go at him in the Ashes later this year.
{{/usCountry}}"Most opposition bowlers can’t wait to get their sweaters off to bowl at him. Can you imagine what the Australian seamers are thinking about this winter’s Ashes series? If Starc doesn’t get you, Hazlewood and Cummins will," he added.
‘Pope has done better for England than Crawley’
Boycott backed Ollie Pope amid talk of dropping him for Jacob Bethell, saying Pope has done more for England than Zak Crawley. He pointed out that Pope was Stokes' pick for No. 3, with limited options available.
"I hear and read comments about dropping Ollie Pope and replacing him with Jacob Bethell. Pope has done better for England than Crawley. Ollie was Stokes’ personal choice at three. At the time, number four was taken by Joe Root and number six by the captain so not many options," he wrote.
He further added that Pope fully bought into Bazball, perhaps fearing for his place.
"Early on the captain and coach sold Bazball to all the players and Ollie seems to have bought into it 100 per cent and is so keen to show he is a disciple. Perhaps he feels he must play positive and aggressively or he won’t keep his place," he concluded.