Crawley glad to repay England faith with stunning Ashes century

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.

Crawley vindicated that support Thursday with a superb maiden Ashes century, scoring at better than a run-a-ball while facing 182 deliveries, including 21 fours and three sixes.

“It’s fair to say that under any other coach or captain I probably wouldn’t be playing this series,” Crawley told reporters after stumps. “So, to be backed by them gives me a lot of confidence.”

The 25-year-old Kent right-hander is now the leading run-scorer, for either team, in this series, with 385 runs at an impressive average of 55.

“They’ve always said not to worry about being consistent, just to go out and try to win games for England. I was just trying to play my natural game,” he said

Crawley, who shared a stand of 206 in just 186 balls with Root (84) had several lucky breaks when playing and missing.

But the fourth century of his 38-Test career was also studded with classic drives.