Crawley shows judgment and skill in Antigua ton

The England Test team is in a state of transition.

The Ashes debacle has resulted in sackings and droppings. We do not know who will fill the head coach and director of cricket roles on a full-time basis. We do not know whether James Anderson and Stuart Broad will be back. We do not know whether Joe Root will be long-term captain.

But there are some permanent fixtures in the XI (Root, Ben Stokes and, fitness-permitting, Mark Wood) and you can add Zak Crawley to those now after his mature hundred against West Indies in Antigua. In this red-ball reset, he looks set for a major role.

2020 was Crawley's breakout year as he scored 267 against Pakistan at The Ageas Bowl - the 10th-best by an Englishman in Tests. 2021 was extremely unkind to him, though, as he averaged a paltry 10.81 with 11 single-figure scores out of 16. He was dropped from the side at one point.

"When I got taken out of the team [England] said I had a big future. I was thankful for that and it gave me a lot of confidence. I always believed I would come in again but maybe not so soon," said Crawley.

So far, 2022 has been much more enjoyable for the Kent batter. Admittedly, it started with a duck against Australia in Sydney but that was followed by an authoritative 77 in the second innings of the same match and now an unbeaten 117 from 200 balls against West Indies at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Nineteen months after his first Test ton, he now has a second.

"It means an awful lot to score a hundred. It's been a while since my last one and there were times last year when I didn't think I'd get another. I feel like I have made some decent strides but I still feel I can improve."

Crawley always looks the part. Tall, imposing, all the shots and the ability to