While opener Zak Crawley may be a terrific player when he is batting well, those "wow occasions" are few and far between, according to former England captain Nasser Hussain. He also said that Crawley should be given just one more chance to prove himself.
According to England Test coach Brendon McCullum, one must consider the "whole package" before deciding whether to start the out-of-sorts Crawley in the second Test against South Africa in Manchester starting on August 25.
The 24-year-old opener struggled against the Proteas in the first Test at Lord's, which England lost by an innings and 12 runs in just three days. Crawley has been experiencing a protracted slide in form at the top. In 10 innings this summer, the right-handed batter has not yet reached the fifty-score mark for his nation.
Hussain believed that Crawley was receiving contradictory instructions on how to bat at the top from coach McCullum.
"In the Test against South Africa at Lord's and in the second innings against India at Edgbaston, I actually got the impression that Zak Crawley was attempting to leave the ball more, play later, and take a cue from the opposing openers. Therefore, I believe McCullum is sending a little bit of a mixed message when he says that England and himself need to play tougher in the second Test at Old Trafford "Hussain wrote this in his Daily Mail column.
"If Crawley participates, England must be very explicit about what they expect from him because, for the life of me, I can't figure out what McCullum meant when he said that he didn't want him to be consistent. It goes without saying that you want your guys to be consistent, which is exactly what England gets from players like (Joe) Root and Jimmy Anderson.
"As it stands, this mindset offers Crawley a free pass. Perhaps it is simply not my day, he might think. My playing style is not suitable for being a reliable player. Instead, he should strive to do everything in his power to overcome challenging circumstances and circumstances when it is not his day. When playing in a test match, you want to make an impression despite the rigours and grind "argued Hussain.
Given that batting first on a Lord's wicket in the first Test was as "tough as it can get," Hussain declared that he would give Crawley the benefit of the doubt to play in the second Test at Old Trafford.
"I see why England continues to use Crawley. When he is at the plate, he is a "wow" player. The problem is that he's been averaging 18.6 in his last 18 Tests, and those "wow" moments are becoming less frequent. Given that Lord's after losing the toss was about as challenging as it could be against those four superb South African seamers, I would give him one more game at this point. Old Trafford should have a flatter surface "Hussain stated.