Confident Crawley determined to prove he’s no one-hit wonder

ZAK Crawley is yet to play an international innings in Asia but England’s quarantine period in Sri Lanka has given him plenty of time to think about what his first one might look like.

Crawley, 22, arrived in Hambantota l ast weekend determined not to be a ‘one-hit wonder’ following his epic 267 against Pakistan last summer.

The Kent batsman, expected to shift from No 3 to open in the absence of expectant father Rory Burns in next week’s first Test, joined the rest of the squad for the first net session yesterday after a blanket set of negative Covid-19 tests were returned following Moeen Ali’s positive at the weekend.

‘During the days when you’re just daydreaming, you’re thinking about it and watching videos and constantly thinking about how you’re going to go about it,’ said Crawley.

‘If you think about it before you practise, that really helps. The cricket over here is very different to in England, so I feel like you have to adapt to that.’

This trip remains on a knife-edge, with the latest round of testing scheduled for today viewed as pivotal for the series to get under way. News t hat Chris Woakes — who travelled from Birmingham to Heathrow in a vehicle with Moeen — has tested negative was welcome, but there is an acceptance that the virus takes several days to manifest itself.

Moeen is now in isolation with mild symptoms at the team hotel following an aborted plan to move him to alternative accommodation for ten days.