Cricket is a game obsessed with numbers and Zak Crawley’s make for fascinating reading. They are not what you would expect from a Test opener to have played 60 games.
An average below 31 – Crawley’s dipping to 30.96 after his loose drive-induced Perth pair – and 44 single-figure dismissals in 109 knocks. In 41 per cent of his innings, he has scored nine or less.
But England don’t pick Crawley because of his numbers. They pick him for moments, for his aggression, for what he can do to world-class bowlers at his best.
We believe he is a quality player, particularly in these conditions against this sort of opposition. Sometimes you get out cheaply, right? It would have been nice if he hadn’t, but that’s life. If he can get going, he can do some damage.
England head coach Brendon McCullum on Zak Crawley
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If England’s batting is indeed ‘vibe-based’ – as one quip from the Australian media suggested after the tourists’ capitulation in the first Ashes Test – then Crawley is the epitome.
Head coach Brendon McCullum once remarked, to much scoffing from pundits and fans alike, that Crawley’s skillset is “not to be a consistent cricketer” (although the batter was the peak of consistency in Perth with two first-over ducks).
Instead, McCullum focused on the opener’s ability to “win matches for England” or at the very least help them do so and that has happened at times in the Bazball era.
Against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2022, his 86-ball hundred came as England piled on 500 on the opening day, giving them time to take 20 wickets on the flattest of pitches.
Against Australia in Manchester in 2023, his superb 189 had his side bang on top before the rain washed away the hosts’ hopes of taking that Ashes to a series decider at The Kia Oval.
Against India in Leeds last summer, his knock of 65 and opening stand of 188 with Ben Duckett helped England break the back of a monster chase of 371.
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Crawley was out for nought in the first over in both England innings in Perth
So England’s faith in Crawley – which some would say is of the blind variety – is not entirely unjustified. He averages 38 against Australia and 54 against Australia captain Pat Cummins, who may return from injury in the day-night second Test in Brisbane from December 4.
But those match-altering interventions of Crawley’s McCullum speaks about are scarce, even if he has improved during Bazball.
In 21 Tests pre-Baz he averaged 28.60 (two hundreds, five fifties). In 39 Tests with Baz, he averages 32.26 (three hundreds, 14 fifties), a number that would be even better if not for a shocking average of 12.31 in eight games versus New Zealand.
England all in on Crawley for the Ashes after Sydney knock in 2021/22
One key Crawley number England did put a lot of stock in was the 76 he scored in Sydney during the 2021-22 Ashes, a knock of authority, fluency and simplicity that impressed Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain and a host of Australia greats.
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Crawley has five hundreds and 19 fifties in 60 Tests for England
England saw from that a player who could thrive on fast and true Australian pitches and went all in on Crawley for this Ashes.
It is why they have resisted calls to drop him, why they have ignored the low scores (Crawley has 12 ducks in Test cricket, with eight of them coming in the Bazball period).
It is also why him not scoring a run in Perth is, if you have a dark, warped sense of humour (something that often helps supporting England), pretty funny.
If Crawley’s back-to-back blobs had caused England’s defeat there may have been a modicum of pressure on his place – but they didn’t. There were players far more culpable. The happy hookers in the first innings, the daft drivers in the second.
Score summary – Australia beat England by eight wickets in first Test
England 172 all out in 32.5 overs in first innings (elected to bat): Harry Brook (52), Ollie Pope (46), Jamie Smith (33), Ben Duckett (21); Mitchell Starc (7-58), Brendan Doggett (2-27)
Australia 132 all out after 45.2 overs in first innings: Ben Stokes (5-23), Brydon Carse (3-45), Jofra Archer (2-11); Alex Carey (26), Cameron Green (24), Travis Head (21)
England 164 all out in 45.2 overs in second innings: Gus Atkinson (37), Ollie Pope (33), Ben Duckett (28); Scott Boland (4-33), Brendan Doggett (3-51), Mitchell Starc (3-55)
Australia 205-2 in 28.2 overs in second innings (target 205): Travis Head (123 off 83 balls), Marnus Labuschagne (51no), Jake Weatherald (23), Steve Smith (2no); Brydon Carse (2-44)
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Crawley will most likely retain his place for the day-night second Ashes Test in Brisbane from December 4
England are not about to abandon their belief in Crawley now, despite his Perth nightmare leaving him in a “horrible place”, according to Stuart Broad, and the man who removed him twice at Optus Stadum, Mitchell Starc, boasting the best record by a bowler in pink-ball Tests (81 wickets in 14 games at an average of 17.08).
Besides, who would replace Crawley? There is no back-up opener in the main squad – Jacob Bethell could perhaps do that job at a push – and handing a Lions opener in Ben McKinney or Tom Haines a Test debut in an Ashes series with the home side buoyant is probably a step too bold for even this most adventurous of regimes.
If England wanted to stick someone from the middle order to the top – as Australia did so successfully with Travis ‘Travball’ Head in Perth – then the most likely option would be the always-selfless skipper Ben Stokes. But, again, that isn’t going to happen.
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Jacob Bethell is the back-up batter in England’s Ashes squad
So Crawley it will be – for now, if not the long-term future.
You can read the fact that England only handed the opener a one-year central contract as down to the fact he only really plays Tests or because, maybe, he is running out of rope.
If Crawley has been persevered with because of this Ashes series and this Ashes series then does not go well, his job will be on the line, along with a few others. That’s the way Ashes series work. It is rare for a bad one not to result in heads rolling.
What Crawley could do with now, then, is numbers. Big, significant numbers. A number other than nought would be a start.
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Stuart Broad reflects on England’s collapse in their first Ashes Test against Australia and what exactly went wrong for them to throw away a potential victory
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26
All times UK and Ireland
First Test (Perth – November 21-25): Australia beat England by eight wicketsSecond Test (day/night): Thursday December 4 – Monday December 8 (4am) – The Gabba, BrisbaneThird Test: Wednesday December 17 – Sunday December 21 (11.30pm) – Adelaide OvalFourth Test: Thursday December 25 – Monday December 29 (11.30pm) – Melbourne Cricket GroundFifth Test: Sunday January 4 – Thursday January 8 (11.30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground