Crawley hopes for turnaround at OT

The England opener has had a rough run with the bat but is likely to keep his place in the fourth Test against India

- Firoz Mirza @MANCHESTER

HERE was a time in the not so distant past when Zak Crawley epitomised Bazball. He didn't need to be persuaded to play a certain way for he used to bring with him a lot of positive vibes even before Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes had joined hands.

It's why he knew his place was secure despite returns of 43, 9, 4, 0, 6, 25, 9 and 46 under the new regime's first four Tests. A year later, in the Summer of 2023, the opener showed why. He opened The Ashes with a roaring on-the-up cover drive off Pat Cummins. He later said that was always his plan; hit the first ball of the series for a boundary. He followed a tone-setting 61 off 73 with a rip-roaring 182-ball 189 in Manchester a few Tests later.

That, though, remains the apogee of the opener's Test career. As the ongoing five-match series shifts to Manchester, the onus will be on the England opener to find his hands.

On the evidence of the last month, though, he may not.

The time-delaying tactics he adopted on Day 3 of the third Test at Lord's meant Crawley was all over the pages of almost all newspapers both in India and England.