Michael Vaughan, the former England skipper, recently expressed that certain players in the England Squad will need to turn a corner if they are to keep up with India in the ongoing Tendulkar-Anderson trophy series. He particularly dialed in on batter Zak Crawley, considering him ‘lucky’ to be even playing for England.
England lost the second match of the Test series to India, falling short by 336 runs. This allowed India to level the series 1-1, as they registered a historic, first-of-its-kind win in Edgbaston.
Writing in The Telegraph, Vaughan commented, “He has to count himself fortunate to have played 56 games while scoring just five hundreds and averaging 31. Among all the openers in history with more than 2,500 runs, he has the lowest average: 30.3. Crawley has batted 102 times in Test cricket, and been out in single digits 42 times."
He emphasized that Crawley must develop some semblance of consistency in his performances, “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, smashing 267 against Pakistan or playing that innings in the Ashes at Old Trafford. He needs to do it more often than that."
Vaughan also remarked on the difference in performance from the first Test, “Having shown he could do it at Headingley, Crawley had such a great opportunity to change his approach. But it was one step forward, two back. If he continues to play a shot a ball outside off stump he will continue snicking off. If he can be aligned like he was at Leeds and keeps his discipline, he can have a really good year in Test cricket.
Though not all hope is lost as Vaughan said that Crawley can look to emulate the Indian captain, Shubman Gill, whose glowing performances in the series have been pivotal for the Indian side.
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“It is possible to change. Look at Shubman Gill. He came into this series averaging 35, and four innings later he averages 42. He has done that because of his mindset and strategy. He recognised that he was vulnerable to the lbw, and that his hands were away from his body. But he has been tighter, and that has allowed him to bat for long periods with greater control, while still putting the bad ball away. He has focused on defence, then attacked later."
For both squads, it is imperative to break the tie. England will be looking to rebound after faltering, and India will focus on taking control of the series after the boost provided by the Edgbaston win.
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Vaughan Blasts Zak Crawley: 'Luckiest To Play For ENG, Must Learn From Gill' – News18
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