Zak backed after England Test call

ENGLAND have rallied behind Zak Crawley ahead of their first Test of the summer, with selector Luke Wright insisting: "We back him to the hilt".

- BY RORY DOLLARD

Crawley had an up-and-down time of it on Friday, retaining his place in a 13-man squad to face Zimbabwe later this month, only to be dismissed in single figures for the fourth time in this season's Rothesay County Championship.

Pressure is building around the 27-year-old, who averaged just 8.66 in a torrid tour of New Zealand before Christmas and found himself dropped in an overseas stint at the SA20. When he fell lbw to Middlesex seamer Dane Paterson at Lord's for six, it took his first-innings tally for Kent to eight runs in four attempts - offset by a couple of second-innings fifties.

England were never likely to ditch Crawley at this juncture, given their long-held faith in his prowess as a top-order disruptor, but a tough decision is looming.

Jacob Bethell is currently away at the Indian Premier League but made a big impression in New Zealand and will soon be firmly back in contention. With Jamie Smith also back after taking paternity leave in December, and the in-form Jordan Cox in the squad as batting cover, the squeeze is on.