MANCHESTER: Zak Crawley admitted he would have been dropped by any other England setup after on Thursday rewarding the backing of captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum with a superb hundred in the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford.
The opener’s electrifying 189 took England to 384-4 at stumps on Thursday’s second day, 67 runs ahead of Australia’s first innings 317, in a match England must win if they are to stand a chance of regaining the Ashes at 2-1 down with two to play.
Crawley’s prolonged run of low scores had led many to question his place in England’s XI ahead of their five-match encounter with Ashes-holders Australia, the reigning world Test champions.
But Stokes and McCullum’s faith in the dashing shotmaker never faltered. Crawley is just one of three ever-presents in the ‘Bazball’ era alongside the skipper and star batsman Joe Root.