Zak Crawley has been consistently backed by England since the last Ashes series down under, but having faced 11 balls for 0 runs across two innings in Perth, has this series become career-defining for the Kent opener?

Alongside Joe Root, Ollie Pope and skipper Ben Stokes, Crawley has been a permanent fixture under McCullum. But his ultra-aggressive style, completely at odds with that of the traditional, attritional opening batter has been divisive amongst cricket fans.

Traditionalists watch Crawley’s innings from behind the sofa, wincing at every expansive drive he plays and tutting at his dismissals, longing for the days of Boycott and Edrich to send a nation to sleep with their immaculate forward defensives.

Meanwhile, Bazball enthusiasts admire Crawley’s ability to take the game to the opposition and dominate top quality fast bowling, waxing lyrical about his extra cover drive off the first ball of the 2023 Ashes.

Crawley is no longer a young prospect; he is a 27 year-old, experienced batter who has played 60 test matches. He has more test caps than Darren Gough, Tony Greig and Jonathan Trott, but his numbers are still lukewarm at best.

He averages 30.96 in test cricket and 31.91 in First Class cricket with 5 and 12 centuries respectively. This is a similar test record to Graeme Hick, largely regarded as a massive underperformer in test cricket – although Hick has a colossal First Class record unlike Crawley.

With such an underwhelming statistical record, why have Stokes and McCullum consistently backed him?

Firstly, he is an aggressive batter who is capable of putting great bowlers under pressure with his attacking, exciting strokeplay. His booming drives often make quick runs, utilising the hard new ball and close, attacking fields.

And while his 2023 extra cover drive against Pat Cummings’ bowling makes for a great clip which will undoubtedly be played every time anyone mentions the Ashes or Zak Crawley until his funeral, there is more to it than simply the shot itself.

The field was set back, with point positioned on the boundary before the first ball had been delivered. So not only can Crawley score quick runs, but him simply being at the crease instantly puts opposition captains on the back foot as they attempt to contain his aggressive nature.

Secondly, the hidden strength within Crawley’s otherwise underwhelming statistics are his numbers when opening the batting with Ben Duckett.  

Batters	Runs	Average
JB Hobbs, H Sutcliffe	3249	87.81
JB Hobbs, W Rhodes	2146	61.31
L Hutton, C Washbrook	2880	60.00
MA Atherton, GA Gooch	2501	56.84
AJ Strauss, ME Trescothick	2670	52.35
G Boycott, JH Edrich	1672	52.25
ME Trescothick, MP Vaughan	2487	48.76
RW Barber, G Boycott	1171	46.84
Z Crawley, BM Duckett	2511	44.83
MA Atherton, ME Trescothick	1297	43.23
AN Cook, AJ Strauss	4711	40.96
MA Atherton, AJ Stewart	1930	39.38
G Boycott, GA Gooch	1754	38.13
MA Atherton, MA Butcher	1107	34.59

England test opening partnership highest averages (minimum 1000 runs)

Crawley and Duckett have the fourth highest runs tally and the ninth best average in test cricket for England. Given the endless procession of opening partners for Alastair Cook following Strauss’ retirement, this cannot be taken lightly. Ollie Pope is currently statistically likely to walk to the crease with the score reading 44-1, which any test cricket tragic will tell you is a decent start.

Finally, McCullum and Stokes seem to like his character. Crawley comes across as a calm, unflappable individual, whether answering awkward questions from broadcasters, taking sharp catches at slip, or watching a shot sail over the boundary.

Fans also remember his ‘gamesmanship’ in delaying the Indian fast bowlers at the end of the third day at Lord’s. While the ‘spirit of cricket’ debate can be chewed over, Crawley’s actions were indicative of a batter who has a bit of nous and grit about him.

But will England continue to show faith in the player who has the lowest average of any opener with over 2500 runs in the history of the game?

While Crawley has a good record with Duckett, has Duckett been doing most of the work?

While he can dominate good attacks, does this only happen on flat pitches?

While he appears to be a solid character, do we need more than ‘vibes’ from our test cricketers?

He has been long-tipped to be naturally suited to Australian pitches, but he averaged 27.66 in the last series there, with one score over 50 from six innings, which was on a flat pitch in Sydney. The pitch in Perth was less forgiving, and Brisbane is also likely to be tricky.

As the Pope/Bethell debate dominated the discourse prior to the series, the debate around Crawley was largely sidelined. However, having bagged the first pair by an English opener in an Ashes test since Atherton in 1998, the spotlight has been firmly fixed on Crawley.

As a lifelong Kent fan, I would dearly love to see Zak Crawley make some big contributions to the series and silence his detractors. However, with several other top order batters proving their worth in the domestic season and for the Lions, I could understand England moving him on.

Given the faith he has been shown by Stokes and McCullum, Crawley needs to show what he’s capable of and play an integral part in this career-defining series.

It’s now or never for the Kent man.