Ashes 2023

Zak Crawley on Lord’s Test: I think England will win by, I don’t know, 150 runs

by Wisden Staff June 23, 2023 - 7:31pm 3 minute read

Zak Crawley has offered a bold prediction ahead of the second men’s Ashes Test at Lord’s, backing England to take home victory by 150 runs.

England lost the Ashes opener at Edgbaston by two wickets, with the game going down as an instant classic. The advantage changed hands regularly throughout the contest, with England looking to have done enough when Pat Cummins was joined by Nathan Lyon, Australia still 54 runs from victory. In a memorable final hour, the pair then added enough runs to take their side over the line, and give them a 1-0 lead in the series.

However, England’s players have made clear their displeasure upon which the game was played. James Anderson was the strongest in his criticism. “That pitch was like kryptonite for me,” he wrote in The Telegraph. “There was not much swing, no reverse swing, no seam movement, no bounce and no pace. I’ve tried over the years to hone my skills so I can bowl in any conditions but everything I tried made no difference. I felt like I was fighting an uphill battle. It’s a long series and hopefully, I can contribute at some point, but if all the pitches are like that I’m done in the Ashes series.”

Crawley also argued that the pitch didn’t suit England and suggested that, on a more conducive surface, the result could swing significantly. “I think we’ll win,” he said of the Lord’s Test, speaking on Times Radio. “I think it will suit us a bit more, that pitch. So I think we’ll win by, I don’t know, 150 runs?”

Crawley made 61 in the first innings at Edgbaston, memorably driving the first ball of the game for four to a raucous reception from the crowd. “There was definitely part of me that was thinking, ‘If it’s there, I’m going to try and hit for four, send a message,’” he said. “Thankfully it was in a decent spot to hit for four and yeah, I got lucky, it hit the middle of my bat.”