Crawley ideally suited to be England's number three batsman: Ian Chappell
Aug 30, 2020
Melbourne [Australia], Aug 30 : Former Australia skipper Ian Chappell believes that Zak Crawley is ideal to be the number three batsman for England in Test cricket.
Crawley had played an innings of 267 in the first innings of the third and final Test against Pakistan, and this knock helped the hosts to put a mammoth total of 583/8.
"Crawley is ideally suited to fill England's needs at No. 3 with his natural attacking instincts. England are yet to solve their opening puzzle but Crawley, Root, and Ben Stokes comprise a potentially strong and dangerous middle order," ESPNCricinfo quoted Chappell as saying.
"An upcoming Ashes series featuring a duel between rival No. 3s Labuschagne and Crawley promises a more glamorous future - one befitting the importance of the position," he added.
Chappell also believes that Crawley and Australia's Marnus Labuschagne will bring back attacking gameplay for number three batsmen in Test cricket.
"Labuschagne and Crawley like to make their mark early, establishing superiority with energetic running and audacious shot-making. Their motto appears to be: Let's win this game quickly," Chappell said.
Crawley has so far played eight Tests for England, managing to score 581 runs, with his highest score being 267 against Pakistan.
On the other hand, the 26-year-old Labuschagne made his Test debut in 2018, but he couldn't register his presence right away.
However, he made a comeback in the national squad in the second Ashes Test at Lord's in 2019.
The right-handed batsman registered 1,104 runs at an impressive average of 64.94 in 2019.
The stellar run continued to the succeeding year, 2020, when he played an innings of 215, his highest Test score, against New Zealand in Sydney.
