ENG vs AUS Ashes Test: Was Certainly Braver Against Australia On Purpose, Says Zak Crawley On Success In Ashes

England’s opening batter Zak Crawley believes that becoming braver against Australia on purpose, coupled with backing from coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes has been one of the big reasons behind his achieving success in the recently concluded Ashes. Crawley ended the recently-concluded Ashes as England's leading run-scorer with 480 runs in nine innings at an average of 53.3 and strike rate of 88.72. The opener’s place in the Test team was under threat after averaging 23 in last year’s home summer.

“I thought if I could put them under pressure a bit more, it might give me more of a chance. I was certainly braver against them, and that was on purpose. The pitches were good early in this series and thankfully it came off on a few occasions.”

“The messaging was always the same from them (McCullum and Stokes). So I decided to fully buy into it a bit more. To give myself the best chance of success, I was going to be braver in this (Ashes) series,” said Crawley to the Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club Podcast.

Crawley’s assured look in the Ashes came from the time when he smashed the first ball of the series from Pat Cummins through the covers for four at Edgbaston. With a magnificent 189 in the drawn Manchester Test as well as a fine 73 in the second innings at The Oval, Crawley credits his new positive batting mindset.

“It was certainly in the back of my mind that I wanted to be positive and if it was there to hit I was going to try to get it away because I thought it would send a really good message. I wasn’t going to swing at it wherever it is, because that would have been reckless.”

“But if it was in my area, I was going to try to put my hands through it. Luckily it hit the middle of the bat. I wanted to make an impression and show them that we were going to keep playing the same way. I am thankful it came off,” he added.

Crawley further revealed that he was battling demons of failure in his mind before the Ashes arrived, mainly due to his previous lean returns. 

“I have always felt like I have netted well, and I couldn’t put my finger on why I could net well, and not score runs in the game. There have been times when I’ve felt badly out of nick in the game. I felt out of the nick in New Zealand. More the mental block, that fear of failure.”

“I didn’t have the right game plan against certain types of bowling, I couldn’t unlock that over a period of time. Thankful (that) I’ve done that over a series, and I’ll try to unlock some of the things I did in this series more often,” he said.

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“It won’t always come off, there will be times I will get out early and it’ll look reckless. But if I play like that I think I’m better off. When I put pressure on myself I feel worse. I didn’t allow myself to do that this time,” he concluded.