"I think it will help our Test team if the pitches did start getting better" - Zak Crawley
Young England opener Zak Crawley feels the team's substandard batting performance in the ongoing Ashes boils down to playing on poor pitches back home. The Kent opener admitted the decks in England deserve some assistance as it will also help England's Test side.
Four Tests into the Ashes, England are yet to cross 300 as their highest score has been 297. The last 11 months have seen Joe Root and Co. bundled out for below 200 runs on 13 occasions. Australia shot the visitors down for 68 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
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Very well batted Zak 🏏
#Ashes https://t.co/4lo4YI81dr
Crawley called for better batting pitches in England and stated that every ground has the same characteristics. The 23-year-old revealed that the wickets have been bowler-friendly since the start of his career. Zak Crawley said, as quoted by the Daily Mail:
"Obviously I'd like the pitch at Canterbury to be a little bit better. I don't think it's unfair of me to say. But I don't think it's just a Kent thing: I think pretty much all the grounds I've played on have been pretty poor. It'd be tough for me to find somewhere maybe a bit flatter. It's more a country-wide problem."
He added:
"I think it will help our Test team a lot if the pitches did start getting better. The pitches have been very favorable to bowlers my whole career so far. So until that changes, I feel like the average is a little bit lower than I'd like."
The right-handed batter flourished in the second innings of the Sydney Test, with a stroke-filled 77, laced with 13 boundaries. The likes of Michael Vaughan and Ricky Ponting have highlighted Crawley as the future of England's batting attack.
"You tend to learn more from your failures than your successes" - Zak Crawley
Zak Crawley's 267 is the second-highest maiden century for England 🙌
More stats from a superb innings: es.pn/2ErQ1S9 https://t.co/iGx9aPLYiX
Crawley, who averaged only 10.81 in Tests in 2021, claims that players learn more from failure rather than success. However, the youngster frequently reminded himself of his 267 against Pakistan to become better. Zak Crawley said:
"You tend to learn more from your failures than your successes and it wasn't the year I wanted. We played some great opposition on some really tough pitches so I wasn't too hard on myself. I watch that innings [against Pakistan] frequently when I'm going through bad form because it is a nice reminder that I've done it before and I can do it again."
Zak Crawley added:
"Sometimes you can lose sight of the fact that you can play. I played really nicely that day, but I feel like I'm a better player now, and that's because of the failures I had last year."
Crawley's 77 was vital as England held Australia to a draw in the fourth Test after losing three consecutive games. The fifth and final Test starts in Hobart on January 14.