ZAK ATTACK
CRAWLEY’S BRILLIANT UNBEATEN 171 PUTS ENGLAND IN CHARGE:
ZAK CRAWLEY set a new standard with his maiden Test hundred that confirmed his arrival as a bona fide Test batsman and then some.
After becoming the first England No.3 to score a Test ton at home for four years, Crawley turned it into a career-best 171 not out and put his team firmly in control on 332-4.
The same could also be said of Jos Buttler, who posted an entertaining 87 not out and will fancy adding to his solitary Test hundred on day two.
Crawley may have been picked originally only on potential, but there have been enough glimpses of what he can do with England to know this day would arrive.
He has improved steadily over his eight-match career, showing that scoring Test runs is not the tortuous process it was for Joe Denly, who presented him with his Test cap.
While Denly could soak up pressure, he found it hard to score the runs a No.3 needs, which is why when Joe Root returned for the second Test of the summer the presenter rather than the recipient made way.
And Crawley, 22, vindicated that decision with a performance that made batting look simple.
His innings was a joy to behold, full of crisp clean shots that brought 19 boundaries all round the wicket.
He timed the orthodox and reverse sweeps just as well as the pulls and the drives to break the spirit of the Pakistan attack.
The 6ft-5in Kent batsman used his extra reach to great effect, punching balls at the top of their bounce over the outfield.
On the odd occasion a bowler had the upper hand, he tucked in behind a resolute defence and the ability to sway out of harm’s way like a boxer waiting to unload his next blow.
At the other end for most of the day was Buttler (right), who now walks to the middle as if he is wearing the one-day team’s coloured kit.
The work he has done on his technique and the extra responsibility of batting at No.6 has seen him blossom rather than wilt.
His match-winning efforts in the first Test at Old Trafford are being replicated here and there is time to turn his knock into something as grand as Crawley’s. They came together at 127-4 with the bowlers finding enough movement to fox their team-mates, including a beauty from Naseem Shah to remove Joe Root for 29. Rory Burns fell cheaply, while Dom Sibley’s lbw, dancing down the pitch to Yasir Shah was a triumph of decision-making by umpire Michael Gough.