"It's a great learning experience for us to come up against some of the best players in the world" - Zak Crawley
Zak Crawley has described playing in the pink-ball Test against Team India as a 'learning curve' for the young English players. Crawley labeled the Indian cricketers as some of the best players globally. He further stated that performing well against Team India would boost the English players' confidence.
Talking to reporters via a virtual press conference on Tuesday (March 2), Zak Crawley spoke at length about the previous Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium. When asked if the pink-ball Test versus India was a learning curve for the England cricket team, Zak Crawley replied:
"It's a great learning experience for us to come up against some of the best players in the world and, you know, if we can perform then we just take loads of confidence for that going down the line."
Although England managed only 203 runs in their two innings of the pink-ball Test in Ahmedabad, Zak Crawley impressed fans with his batting performance in the first innings.
Crawley scored 53 runs from 84 balls, hitting 10 fours while playing his first game of the ongoing series. He was one of only two players to register a half-century in the third Test.
There was quite a bit said about the last game: Zak Crawley
The pitch on offer at the rebuilt Narendra Modi Stadium sparked a massive debate in cricketing circles last week. Cricketers from various countries chipped in with their assessment of the wicket.
While a few cricket experts lashed out at the top officials for preparing a spin-friendly surface, many believed the batsmen's mindsets resulted in their failure.
Zak Crawley felt social media talk was the most notable difference between playing county cricket and international cricket. Although Crawley has not been very active on social media, he mentioned that external pressure is significant at the international level.
"It's a great learning curve, you know, and it's not just the on-field stuff. It's the off-field stuff. Obviously, I'm unfortunate. I don't have social media. But I've heard the few of us allowed to do social media saying that there was quite a bit said about the last game. And it's all about dealing with that kind of stuff at this level. I think that's one of the biggest differences I've found with this level compared to playing county cricket is dealing with the exterior pressure that they will put on you and you're putting yourself because you want to do well," Zak Crawley added.