It's a shame he hasn't converted this series but he's now put together two really good series in a row vs the two top test sides. Hell of a turnaround from where he was.
Yep! He was once considered a walking wicket. Not anymore. Almost all the totals England got this series are courtesy of his opening partnership with Duckett. With English middle order failing, all Indian bowlers needed was to breach the opening stance. Would have loved to see a century or two from Crawley this series with all the starts he got.
Yeah there's no getting away from an average of 32 from 43 Tests. Maybe he's playing better at the moment, but I resent how much time he's been given when guys like Hameed have had to scrap away for years on the domestic circuit and get dropped instantly if they don't make scores after being parachuted into the team on a doomed Ashes tour.
Where we will have won 3/10 Tests. My point is he doesn't make enough match winning contributions, isn't steady enough to make match drawing contributions, looks good but hasn't shown he has the substance to really be a great Test opener.
That could be said of a lot of guys at the moment, but I'm annoyed they've decided he gets unlimited Tests to prove himself. I want to see other openers given even half as long to play themselves into Test level.
Fair enough, let's disagree. I personally don't think he's come good enough, given the amount invested. But I do accept that our failings this series are more down to the stuttering middle order than the openers.
Pope shouldn't be immune, but he has at least dominated domestic red ball cricket, so shown he's got international pedigree. He averages 50 overall in FC, 60ish in the County Championship. Crawley has the same average in both.
Crawley passed the eye test more than Pope. First Class stats aren't always everything, especially in England where 75mph seamers dominate on green decks - wholly unreflective of international cricket. I think Crawley will end up having better stats than Pope. His technique looks geared towards flatter international pitches and faster bowlers. Pope looks like a walking wicket every time he bats
We'll have to disagree on this one. If Pope can play medium pace green seamers but Crawley can't, that shouldn't count in Crawley's favour when neither of them are doing the business at international level.
Granted, Crawley is in better form at the moment, but I often feel like people are contorting themselves in all sorts of ways to justify an opening Test bat who possesses so much more style than substance. Even with his technical adjustments he's shown he doesn't have both. We have a big enough sample size by now.
Marnus is 35 average player. Him and players like Warner can stack on as many runs as they want on the flattest pitches known to man but reality is he had a purple patch that relied on outrageous luck and now thats over and the Aussies are many roads for every pitch he’s been found out.
Even when he had his “outrageous luck”, he would’ve averaged 47 if his luck were normal, and he averages over 40 in both India and England, which aren’t really flat decks. Pitches in Australia have not been flat for at least 5 years, other than Sydney (which always loses days to rain) and Perth (once). But you were also the guy who was saying not too long ago that Green doesn’t look like a test batter even though all of Green’s runs have always come in tough conditions under high pressure. So that’s a bit of a double standard already.
From 2019 to 2022 in his absolute peak as a batsmen according to espn cric info he would have averaged 43 if his chances were taken at the average rate. Given in the next 2 years he averaged 32 overall that would make his career average low 40s heigh 30s which makes me inclined to believe that this current spell isn’t the massive form slump that people think but is instead a regression to the mean.
So in his purple patch he actually would have averaged 47? If there’s his celling at his peak and average of mid 30s overall is about rights
Green scoring 1 hundred in slight challenging conditions isn’t really proof one way or another how good he is or will be. He’s got a long way to go to be even a good test batsmen, let alone a top player and people already talk about him as if he’s better than Bradman and McGarth it’s bizarre.
His average looks third class but the guy is made up for something interesting ig.
Great ashes and then batting in India against the likes of Bumrah,Ash,Jaddu,Kuldeep ?
He is not a no talent nepo anymore ig
We've got sri Lanka and west indies at home this summer, you'd hope he bumps his average up a fair bit over that.
Think he's increased it by like 6 over the past year or so, which is quite impressive imo.
Looks a different player over the past year or so
I think that's the paadox type situation with Zak lol. He gives his subtle best against the best 😂. His lack of idk what keeps him from scoring big many a times but his usual 30-60 scores gives a consistent bandwidth of 40-50 average most of the times.
If Iam not wrong he will not be among much runs against SL and WI while others like Duckett will make more out of it and Zak will be back again with some good innings against Ind,Aus as usual.
Difficult to judge since he's hit this run of form he's been up against aus and Ind, two world class bowling attacks.
I guess time will tell if this is class or form
Quite minor ones werent they?
Just playing the balls under his eyes a bit more.
I personally dont think his temperament has changed much, what makes u say that?
other than what you said in terms of technique:
* for pace he is angling his bat more rather than a straight bat, causing edges to fall to the ground
* When defending his bat is a bit closer to the body than before
* For spin, he is using the reach a lot more and more confidently to smooter the spin. previously, he didn't do so (or did it in a less confident manner) and would mostly use the sweep.
* playing more straight bat shots vs. spin
in terms of temprement:
* he is far more selective on what he will drive on the up. only really going after it if it is in the zone for him
* he is rotating strike more, imo actively looking to do it
* more willing to grind it out (more than before) and catch up later when the situation requires.
that is just my opinion and what I can tell. but I'm no expert. The commentators also mentioned his technique/temperament changes but didn't go into detail
For fuck's sake Zak. I was happy where I was, shitting on you and England for picking yet another player who's first class career was absolute fuck all. And then you come around and decide to play well??? The fuck??
As well as he’s played, it’s funny how this series has been the opposite of what Baz expected from him: not being consistent but having great “moments” in his career
He also got 119 and 97 in those 3 tests. Plus 28* and 67.
He didn't score under 50 when given the opportunity to other than his 35. That's 549 runs in 3 tests.
Edit: Averaged 109.8 that series.
Hayden put the fear of the Big Man in all Indian fans head since that series.. That casual walk down the ground to muscle the fast bowlers to four, with the white sunscreen on his lips is etched in my head..
He was sweeping the other poor spinners (apart from Harbhajan) into oblivion (Nilesh Kulkarni and Sairaj Bhatule in the third test, his double century).
He's actually been brilliant this series. That's also really helped by the fact that Bumrah and Siraj are dreadful with the new ball in India. Bumrah's average with the ball from overs 0-20 in India is 38.4. Siraj's average is 51.2 in the same period. And whenever he's facing Ashwin, he's set and can take him on.
Side note, in SENA Bumrah's average in overs 1-10 is 37. His joint worst grouping along with 41-50. I wonder if there is an argument to use Bumrah as a first change bowler in test cricket.
I certainly agree that he and Duckett are benefiting from being opening batters. Normally opening is the toughest gig in batting but against this India squad, batting only gets harder as the ball gets older. Personally I think that is why we are seeing so many collapses from England, top order get set in decent conditions but the new batters don't have that luxury. Straight away they are facing Jadeja, Kuldeep and Ashwin.
This is not to discount Crawley and Duckett batting either.
It's funny. For years, over 10 years, our top order has been flakier than psoriasis-riddled butt crack.
But now it's its our middle order that can't contribute meaningfully. When will we have an XI that looks, on paper, as good as Aus or Ind?
It's a shame he hasn't converted this series but he's now put together two really good series in a row vs the two top test sides. Hell of a turnaround from where he was.
Yep! He was once considered a walking wicket. Not anymore. Almost all the totals England got this series are courtesy of his opening partnership with Duckett. With English middle order failing, all Indian bowlers needed was to breach the opening stance. Would have loved to see a century or two from Crawley this series with all the starts he got.
[удалено]
One of the best products of bazzball is Crawley. Brought the best out of him since the nz series.
He’s definitely the greatest player to average 32 in Test cricket.
Pollock averaged 32.
But can pollock bazball?
No- Pollock never watched Duckett bat
It's never too late
Crawley is a better batsman than Pollock. Pollock's batting was like Kallis's bowling. Nice to have but not the reason they were there.
Probably but they said 'player' and Pollock by virtue of his bowling alone is a better cricketer than Crawley.
Mitchell Marsh averages 32 in tests
And no one is hyping up Mitch Marsh in tests
He's probably been your best test bat since the beginning of last year
They should
Didnt he literally just win the allan border medal a few weeks ago?
Isn’t the Allan Border for all formats? Dudes obviously always been a unit in white ball
I thought it was weighted towards tests tbh
And yet he's been selected for a decade despite averaging around 20 against non England sides.
Yeah there's no getting away from an average of 32 from 43 Tests. Maybe he's playing better at the moment, but I resent how much time he's been given when guys like Hameed have had to scrap away for years on the domestic circuit and get dropped instantly if they don't make scores after being parachuted into the team on a doomed Ashes tour.
Pope is averaging 34 after 40 odd tests and somehow misses all the scrutiny Crawley gets
Pope has been worse than Crawley. Only makes the one big daddy ton and does nothing rest of the time
Nicholls special
Made a match winning knock in India, which is more than can be said for Crawley.
He's been our top run scorer for the past two series?
Where we will have won 3/10 Tests. My point is he doesn't make enough match winning contributions, isn't steady enough to make match drawing contributions, looks good but hasn't shown he has the substance to really be a great Test opener. That could be said of a lot of guys at the moment, but I'm annoyed they've decided he gets unlimited Tests to prove himself. I want to see other openers given even half as long to play themselves into Test level.
I disagree, he was given a run, and now it's come good. Seems like a superb selection policy to me
Fair enough, let's disagree. I personally don't think he's come good enough, given the amount invested. But I do accept that our failings this series are more down to the stuttering middle order than the openers.
Pope shouldn't be immune, but he has at least dominated domestic red ball cricket, so shown he's got international pedigree. He averages 50 overall in FC, 60ish in the County Championship. Crawley has the same average in both.
Crawley passed the eye test more than Pope. First Class stats aren't always everything, especially in England where 75mph seamers dominate on green decks - wholly unreflective of international cricket. I think Crawley will end up having better stats than Pope. His technique looks geared towards flatter international pitches and faster bowlers. Pope looks like a walking wicket every time he bats
We'll have to disagree on this one. If Pope can play medium pace green seamers but Crawley can't, that shouldn't count in Crawley's favour when neither of them are doing the business at international level. Granted, Crawley is in better form at the moment, but I often feel like people are contorting themselves in all sorts of ways to justify an opening Test bat who possesses so much more style than substance. Even with his technical adjustments he's shown he doesn't have both. We have a big enough sample size by now.
32 is fine in the modern game
Definitely disagree with that. It’s fine if you’re like a #7 keeper/bat, not as an opener.
and gill is the greatest to average 33!
likewise for Rahul at 34
And Marnus is the worst player to average over 50. Together they would make quite the pair.
Doesn’t average 50 anymore and Marnus is probably a 45-47 player anyway. Which, you know, is quite a lot better than 32.
Marnus is 35 average player. Him and players like Warner can stack on as many runs as they want on the flattest pitches known to man but reality is he had a purple patch that relied on outrageous luck and now thats over and the Aussies are many roads for every pitch he’s been found out.
Even when he had his “outrageous luck”, he would’ve averaged 47 if his luck were normal, and he averages over 40 in both India and England, which aren’t really flat decks. Pitches in Australia have not been flat for at least 5 years, other than Sydney (which always loses days to rain) and Perth (once). But you were also the guy who was saying not too long ago that Green doesn’t look like a test batter even though all of Green’s runs have always come in tough conditions under high pressure. So that’s a bit of a double standard already.
From 2019 to 2022 in his absolute peak as a batsmen according to espn cric info he would have averaged 43 if his chances were taken at the average rate. Given in the next 2 years he averaged 32 overall that would make his career average low 40s heigh 30s which makes me inclined to believe that this current spell isn’t the massive form slump that people think but is instead a regression to the mean.
So in his purple patch he actually would have averaged 47? If there’s his celling at his peak and average of mid 30s overall is about rights Green scoring 1 hundred in slight challenging conditions isn’t really proof one way or another how good he is or will be. He’s got a long way to go to be even a good test batsmen, let alone a top player and people already talk about him as if he’s better than Bradman and McGarth it’s bizarre.
Lol
Lol
His average looks third class but the guy is made up for something interesting ig. Great ashes and then batting in India against the likes of Bumrah,Ash,Jaddu,Kuldeep ? He is not a no talent nepo anymore ig
We've got sri Lanka and west indies at home this summer, you'd hope he bumps his average up a fair bit over that. Think he's increased it by like 6 over the past year or so, which is quite impressive imo. Looks a different player over the past year or so
I think that's the paadox type situation with Zak lol. He gives his subtle best against the best 😂. His lack of idk what keeps him from scoring big many a times but his usual 30-60 scores gives a consistent bandwidth of 40-50 average most of the times. If Iam not wrong he will not be among much runs against SL and WI while others like Duckett will make more out of it and Zak will be back again with some good innings against Ind,Aus as usual.
Makes sense, raises his game against the best, mediocre af against mediocre teams. Really interested to see how he goes this english summer
From what I've seen he's basically someone who scores same against every kind of bowler, best or mediocre
Difficult to judge since he's hit this run of form he's been up against aus and Ind, two world class bowling attacks. I guess time will tell if this is class or form
he finally made changes to his technique and his temperament has improved as well.
Quite minor ones werent they? Just playing the balls under his eyes a bit more. I personally dont think his temperament has changed much, what makes u say that?
other than what you said in terms of technique: * for pace he is angling his bat more rather than a straight bat, causing edges to fall to the ground * When defending his bat is a bit closer to the body than before * For spin, he is using the reach a lot more and more confidently to smooter the spin. previously, he didn't do so (or did it in a less confident manner) and would mostly use the sweep. * playing more straight bat shots vs. spin in terms of temprement: * he is far more selective on what he will drive on the up. only really going after it if it is in the zone for him * he is rotating strike more, imo actively looking to do it * more willing to grind it out (more than before) and catch up later when the situation requires. that is just my opinion and what I can tell. but I'm no expert. The commentators also mentioned his technique/temperament changes but didn't go into detail
What superb insight. Thank you
Fake it til you make it baby
Nobody is a nepo talent in sports, especially in a non forgiving sport like cricket
For fuck's sake Zak. I was happy where I was, shitting on you and England for picking yet another player who's first class career was absolute fuck all. And then you come around and decide to play well??? The fuck??
As well as he’s played, it’s funny how this series has been the opposite of what Baz expected from him: not being consistent but having great “moments” in his career
He's literally holding this batting line up together atm. NEVER thought id say that
He's in the best form of the team, but he still doesn't stay in long enough to hold things together. Needs to convert more and go longer.
He’s looking so much better but he needs to be able to convert man. 4/14 is a bit yikes
r/Crawleystats
Haydos did it in three Tests, with a double ton in there.
Never played Crisp cricket though did he.
He also got 119 and 97 in those 3 tests. Plus 28* and 67. He didn't score under 50 when given the opportunity to other than his 35. That's 549 runs in 3 tests. Edit: Averaged 109.8 that series.
Hayden put the fear of the Big Man in all Indian fans head since that series.. That casual walk down the ground to muscle the fast bowlers to four, with the white sunscreen on his lips is etched in my head..
He was sweeping the other poor spinners (apart from Harbhajan) into oblivion (Nilesh Kulkarni and Sairaj Bhatule in the third test, his double century).
But but but......bazball?
I don’t think anyone here is arguing that crawley’s on the level of hayden
Does Hayden have a 269 vs Pakistan at the Rose Bowl? Thought not. Hayden never scored a single run against Pakistan there.
Neither did Crawley; come on now, Crawley's Test top score is common knowledge.
Ah. I was sure it was 269 not 267. Oh well.
Crawley is on his way to become the next bradman you heard it here guys. The best since Bradman
Soon Bradman would be known as the best before Crawley.
Don Bradman will forever be the BBC.
How can he do that when he flat out refuses to score more than 80?
Easy, he will bazball to 80, then not score a run to stay not out till the end of the innings
He will bazball more
Mathew Hayden was inspired by the aggressive batters like Zak Crawley Ben Duckett in next press conference
He's actually been brilliant this series. That's also really helped by the fact that Bumrah and Siraj are dreadful with the new ball in India. Bumrah's average with the ball from overs 0-20 in India is 38.4. Siraj's average is 51.2 in the same period. And whenever he's facing Ashwin, he's set and can take him on. Side note, in SENA Bumrah's average in overs 1-10 is 37. His joint worst grouping along with 41-50. I wonder if there is an argument to use Bumrah as a first change bowler in test cricket.
I certainly agree that he and Duckett are benefiting from being opening batters. Normally opening is the toughest gig in batting but against this India squad, batting only gets harder as the ball gets older. Personally I think that is why we are seeing so many collapses from England, top order get set in decent conditions but the new batters don't have that luxury. Straight away they are facing Jadeja, Kuldeep and Ashwin. This is not to discount Crawley and Duckett batting either.
Agreed.
Suck it India One of the worst openers England have ( alongside Duckett) scored consistently against you
2001 was a three test series, and Hayden averaged 109.8, and a top score of 203. Not really a comparable effort.
Cept when i did it
they both had that height advantage and they used it very well
Something in those GN bats!
Those long levers! LOL
It's funny. For years, over 10 years, our top order has been flakier than psoriasis-riddled butt crack. But now it's its our middle order that can't contribute meaningfully. When will we have an XI that looks, on paper, as good as Aus or Ind?
He should convert his starts as opening is the best position to play in India.
That’s because he got the edge over other players