“He cannot live off that 267 against Pakistan forever” – Nasser Hussain feels Zak Crawley has to live up to his potential to cement his place in the team

Former England captain Nasser Hussain fails to understand Zak Crawley’s string of low scores despite his solid technique. The 23-year-old did not make the most of his repreive from Day 2 of the 4th Ashes Test and was dismissed for 18 by Scott Boland.

Crawley made a promising start to his career with a stellar 267 against Pakistan at Southampton. Nasser Hussain, however, fears that the promising talent won’t be able to remain in the team on the back of that double ton. He has only scored 35 runs across three innings after coming into the playing XI in place of Rory Burns.

Writing for his column in the Daily Mail, Hussain wrote:

“The one player among the openers we have seen in this Ashes who actually does have a good technique is Zak Crawley, who is something of an anomaly. Crawley tries to put bat to ball at the right tempo, doesn’t defend all the time, and puts the pressure back on the bowlers. But something isn’t right. Again at the SCG, he looked good but then got out and he cannot live off that 267 against Pakistan forever.”

England’s batters have been criticized for their poor display Down Under. The visitors have so far failed to breach the 300-run mark in the series. Hussain noted how an overhaul in batting technique could prove fatal when done in the middle of a series. The former captain wrote:

“It is dangerous to make technical changes during a Test series because anything different you do can have consequences. Even Stokes, who is a fabulous cricketer, does it. I saw some footage the other day of his double century at Cape Town six years ago and his technique was close to perfect.”

Hussain went on to talk about Haseeb Hameed, who has struggled for runs so far. The young batter made a return to the national team after a gap of five years in the home series against India. However, he failed to reach double figures for the fifth time in a row after being cleaned up by Mitchell Starc. Terming Hameed’s approach to playing the ball as too “handsy,” Hussain explained:

“Then you see Haseeb Hameed in this series suddenly bringing out some massive triggers right back onto his stumps which means he has become very ‘handsy’. If you look at Hameed in this series his hands are way out in front of him. He is not playing late enough underneath him which is one of Joe Root’s great skills. Hameed is punching at the ball which brings in the outside edge.”

Hameed has only been able to compile 71 runs at an average of 11.17 in the ongoing Ashes series. Barring Josh Hazlewood, he has been dismissed by each of the Australian pacers who have played in the series so far.

“Think back to the batters who were around 10 years ago” – Nasser Hussain

England last won a Test in Australia during the iconic 2010-11 Ashes where they secured the Ashes by a 3-1 margin. Hussain noted how the batters back then were robust and primed for international cricket. In comparison, the current crop still looks raw at the highest level. Outlining the importance of quality coaches at the bottom of the cricketing structure, Hussain concluded:

“Think back to the batters who were around 10 years ago when England last won in Australia. Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell and even a young Alastair Cook all went into international cricket with their techniques ready for the highest level. For that reason you need your best coaches lower down the food chain because at the top it is very difficult to make changes on the go as England seem to be doing. It can confuse the batters and cause other issues.”

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England overcame a shaky start on the back of a promising century by Jonny Bairstow. The Three Lions finished Day 3 at 258-7, after once being reduced to 36-4 in the first session.