‘41% of his innings end in single figures as an opening batsman’: Alastair Cook points out why England persist with Zak Crawley despite ordinary numbers | Cricket News
With Zak Crawley having a nightmare start to the Ashes campaign, scoring two ducks in the 1st Test against Australia at Perth, former England captain Alastair Cook explained the rationale behind the Three Lions’ insistence on going with the opener despite not having the best of records. “England are happy with getting three innings out of him, aren’t they? That’s what he’s done in the past and why he keeps playing in those and he tends to change the momentum of the game. He gets 80 or 100, it tends to be an unbelievable innings. He’s the best batter to ever average 80 in terms of the standard he plays. So actually, he’s having to deliver three out of eight now for him to work,” Cook said on the Stick to Cricket podcast. “I saw a stat that 41% of his innings end in single figures as an opening batsman. Zak Crawley is doing what Zak Crawley does. He’s been backed for three years until this moment. The decision on Zak Crawley will be whether …


