Life will be never be the same for Zak Crawley after his epic double ton
There was a mildly jarring moment during the second day of Zak Crawley’s sublime 267 against Pakistan when Wasim Akram, on commentary for Sky, joked about how excited it would make Neil Fairbrother. Fairbrother is the agent to a number of England’s cricketers and Crawley is among them; the point being that the youngster’s arrival on the Test stage with such a dreamy performance will see his commercial value skyrocket.
Wasim was perhaps just stating a fact of professional sport here but it still illustrated how life may never be the same for Crawley. On the field the dial will shift too. Originally picked on his technique and temperament, rather than numbers that commanded it, this 22-year-old will see hope move towards expectation next time he walks to the crease.
England will have everything crossed that Crawley can roll with it all, because over the course of 545 minutes he delivered an innings that wasn’t simply based on a limited game and dogged determination, but one that blossomed as it went along with an array of eye-catching shots around the ground.
Resuming on his overnight 171, already his career-best first-class score, Crawley patiently waited some 25 balls either side of a morning rain delay for his first scoring shot, neatly clipping Shaheen Shah Afridi for four when the left-armer strayed on to his pads.
Thereafter Crawley went at just under a run-a-ball during an afternoon that saw he and Jos Buttler motor through a host of records. Azhar Ali rather ran out of ideas as his attack started to show legginess and though Naseem Shah kept bustling in, Yasir
Shah received some heavy punishment.
Buttler’s prowess against spin is well known, of course, but Crawley’s additional reach was the telling feature here, using the long levers from his 6ft 5in frame to good effect when slog sweeping the leg-spinner square of the wicket.
Nestled among the numerous milestones that were ticked off was a personal one when Crawley rocked back and carved Yasir for a single past point that took him beyond the careerbest 221 made by Rob Key, one of his trusted mentors, against West Indies back in 2004.
Knowing smiles followed from Crawley and Buttler out in the middle, so too a cheer from those perched on the England balcony. The cherrycheeked Key, centre of much mirth in the commentary box as a result, neatly remarked how baffled the Pakistan fielders must be by it all.
It was a lovely little moment but one that again reminds us not to get ahead of ourselves. The strength of the attack that Key took apart at Lord’s may provide his Sky colleagues with much material these days but at the time it was hoped the floodgates might open for this prolific run-scorer at Kent.
Key won just six more Test caps and though it would be wrong to say his career was defined by that innings, such was his output and popularity on the county circuit, he should have climbed the mountain again and has since shared some regrets about failing to grasp the sport’s growing professionalism at the time.
There should be no fears about Crawley on that front, at least. On his first tour last winter the England coaching staff were wowed by his fitness levels and comparisons were soon made with middle distance runners, such was the way this tall, lean young man ate up the ground while doing circuits of the boundary.
Though just 22, his career up to this point has been one of determination too. Being the son of a self-made multi-millionaire may have provided him with the resources to further his game – such as his winter trips to Perth and India – but with this he appears to have inherited a strong work ethic too.
As a player who is not on social media, Crawley is something of a rarity in international cricket these days and being free from such distraction has clearly worked for him up to this point.
But then if Wasim’s prediction proves correct and the sponsors come calling, this may not remain the case for much longer.