Cliff Notes – ‘I loved that little eight-minute passage at Lord’s’ – Crawley senses another chance to rile India
- Zak Crawley embraced his role in the timewasting controversy at Lord’s, feeling it added competitive spirit to the match against India.
- Despite accusations from India’s captain Shubman Gill regarding the “spirit of the game,” Crawley dismissed the claims, stating he enjoyed the banter and competitive nature of cricket.
- Crawley acknowledged his recent struggles with form but expressed satisfaction with his performance, highlighting the importance of staying relaxed and focused at the crease.
‘I loved that little eight-minute passage at Lord’s’ – Crawley senses another chance to rile India
Zak Crawley has revealed that he “loved” his role in the time-wasting row at Lord’s and sensed “a good chance” to rile India by playing pantomime villain after his 84 laid the foundations for England’s strong response in Manchester.
Crawley was told to “grow some f***ing balls” by Shubman Gill, India’s captain, as he successfully ran the clock down on the third evening at Lord’s, and the pair later pointed fingers at one another in a heated exchange. Gill attempted to reignite the tension between the sides by accusing England of breaching “the spirit of the game”, a charge which Crawley shrugged off.
“I’ve always enjoyed that part of cricket, to be honest, especially when you’re batting,” he said. “There’s two of you against eleven and they’re desperate to get you out, and they’re chirping you.
“Most of the time, I’d probably let it slide, and then other times, I feel like it’s a good chance to put it back on them. I loved that little eight-minute passage. No-one stepped over the line. I thought everyone was in good spirits. It was just competitive cricket, and I really enjoyed it.”
Was it deliberate? of course not!
Asked whether he had intentionally arrived at the crease late, as Gill suggested, Crawley said: “No, no. Not at all. I sit in my spot [in the dressing room] until the umpires go out. I saw the umpires go, and I walked out. I wasn’t aware that we were 90 seconds late, but fair enough.”
Crawley’s 84 on Thursday was his second half-century of the series and came after scores of 19, 0, 18 and 22 in the second and third Tests. He hit 124 against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge in May, but this was his highest score against a World Test Championship opposition since his 189 against Australia two years ago, also at Emirates Old Trafford.
“I have high standards for myself, and I work very hard in my game,” he said. “I always want more for myself, and I’ve certainly wanted more for myself than I’ve got in the last year or so. That’s just an internal thing. I don’t feel that pressure from anyone else.
“I just feel like I owe it to myself to have a few more good performances. Days like today make the practice and the tougher times worth it a bit more. Obviously, I wanted more runs today, but I feel like I’ve worked hard and earned those runs.”
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Crawley said that he had worked hard on trying to stay “relaxed” at the crease after a series of “half-hearted” dismissals in the series. “Sometimes you’re looking for something a little bit too much… It looks too aggressive, but in my mind, actually, I was like, ‘Too half-hearted.’ I was pleased today that when it was there to hit, I put my hands through it.”
He explained that he had taken deep breaths before facing up several times throughout his innings to “take the tension out” of his body, conscious of his poor recent form. “It’s hard: the big crowds, haven’t had loads of runs of late, you get a bit tense. I always play my best when I’m really relaxed,” Crawley said.
“There are little things, little triggers that you have in the middle that make you feel relaxed, whether it be walking slower or anything like that… I certainly didn’t do it as well at Edgbaston. I was absolutely knackered when we were batting there, so it was pretty hard to feel sharp. But I did it much better today, and I was happy about that.”
Crawley eventually fell to Ravindra Jadeja, well caught by KL Rahul at slip, after adding 166 for the first wicket with Ben Duckett. It was their fifth 100-plus stand as an opening pair and the second of the series, and Crawley said that he was more than happy to let Duckett – who made 94 – be “the leader” of their partnership.
“He’s a phenomenal player and he takes a lot of pressure off me,” Crawley said. “He scores at a run-a-ball effortlessly, and it allows you to go about your business. We talk a lot in the middle about how we want to go about it, and obviously our height difference – and being left-right-hand – probably makes it quite hard for the bowlers at times, when we’re both going well at either end.”