NEWS
Follow UsZak Crawly had a forgettable year in Tests in 2021. He managed just 173 runs all year at an average of 10.81. He was thrown in the deep end for the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the expense of Rory Burns. He managed just 12 and five in Melbourne and looks to turn things around in the fourth Test at SCG.
Australia may have already won the Ashes within 12 days, but Crawley believes that the last two Tests could be the start of the rebuilding process for the team. "I haven't played my best cricket. I actually feel in a really good place with my batting," Crawley said ahead of the fourth Ashes Test.
"Those stats [averaging 10] are misleading sometimes. I've never experienced anything like playing in India, if I scored 10 it felt like a good score, then I didn't feel in great touch in summer and all of a sudden you are averaging 10.
"I'm hoping it will be a slightly flatter wicket here [Sydney, for the fourth Test], it usually is, [Melbourne] offered quite a bit. I learned that there were certain balls I could leave where in England you have to play and I'll try and do that better this week. It's great chance to start again and build up the side into a better place."
The England opener further adds that there is still a lot to play for in the last two Tests. "Obviously, there's a lot of pride on the line playing for your country and I feel like there's an awful lot to play for in these next two games and so that's why we're positive and will try to win them both," Crawley said.
Despite being low on runs, Crawley believes the England batters have the talent to get big hundreds and it could very well begin in Sydney, where there are usually plenty of runs on offer. "Everyone has seen the talent that our batters have shown over the last few years," Crawley said.
"We've all got the talent to score big runs in Test cricket, you just have to get in the right headspace to perform like that. Feel like that's where we've gone slightly wrong, haven't been in the right headspace, but physically and talent-wise there's no question that we can score big hundreds over here."