Zak Crawley has enjoyed a good first Ashes Test against Australia, but CricViz data has revealed a worrying trend in his career.
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According to CricViz, the England opener is dismissed more often than any other batter in their database when attempting a defensive stroke. The time period stretches back to 2006, and includes only batters who have faced 700 deliveries or more. The identities of those above Crawley on the list also drew interest, with the other four batters, all tail-enders, including James Anderson, who has spent the majority of his England career at No.11.
Zak Crawley has now been dismissed 28 times while playing a defensive stroke in his Test career.
Lowest shots per dismissal with Defensive Strokes (Tests since 2006; min: 700 balls)
Crawley – 31.7
Siddle – 32.5
Ishant – 32.8
Roach – 33.2
Anderson – 34.6#Ashes #ENGvAUS— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) June 18, 2023
CricViz state that Crawley has been dismissed on 28 occasions playing a defensive shot, as he was in both innings against Australia, meaning he gets out once every 31.7 times he looks to defend. In each innings at Edgbaston he fell to excellent deliveries, with Scott Boland finding the edge to the keeper to end both knocks.
Crawley’s defensive technique has come under the scanner before, with the 25-year-old defending his efforts in a pre-season media day earlier this year.
“I have got a good defensive technique,” Crawley said. “When you are playing against the best sides in the world it might look like it’s not. It’s not something I need to work on.”
However, England head coach Brendon McCullum has acknowledged that Crawley’s defensive technique is one of the weaker aspects of his game.
“He is fully on board and he has to trust in the game he has,” McCullum said during the New Zealand tour. “His attacking game is much stronger than his defensive game, so he needs to start from a position of attack rather than looking to defend and, if he does that, who knows what he can achieve. We will find out, I guess.”
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Crawley came into the summer under pressure, with an average of 25.66 in the Stokes-McCullum era to that point and has done some way to answering his critics with two consecutive, brisk half-centuries against Ireland and Australia. His cover-driven four to begin day one at Edgbaston set the tone for a raucous day for England, who declared just shy of 400 not long before stumps.
His overall Test average now sits at 28.33 after 35 Tests, with Crawley having made three hundreds and nine fifties thus far.
