England‘s summer will start with a one-time Test match against Ireland at London’s Lord’s cricket ground. This Test match is seen as a good way for the English team to get ready for the Ashes series, which will begin on June 16 at Edgbaston. England will play Australia in a five-match series, so the Test match against Ireland will be important for getting ready.
Even though there is a lot of planning going on, the English Cricket Board is being criticized for sticking with Zak Crawley, even though the starting batter hasn’t been able to prove himself worthy of a spot on the team despite being given many chances. Rob Key, who is in charge of the England men’s team, said that the opening spot is a special spot and that Crawley and Ben Duckett have worked together in the past to form important relationships.
“Opening is a specialized job, and we like that relationship because they have made a difference in games. Even though Zak doesn’t have a lot of runs, he has helped win games,” Rob Key told Sky Sports.
On any given day, Zak can easily make bowlers work hard. Rob Key
The 44-year-old went on to defend the English opener by bringing up one of Crawley’s important knocks against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui earlier this year, when he and Ben Duckett put together a partnership that won the game. The former England player also said that among openers, only Rishi Patel, Michael Jones, and Ben Duckett Compton have scored more runs than Crawley in the County Championship.
“The 25-year-old can easily put pressure on bowlers on any given day, no matter who they are.” It’s not about putting pressure on players from the county. It’s about putting pressure on bowlers like Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Pat Cummins, who are some of the best in the world,” Key said.
The opener from Kent hasn’t had the best record so far in the longest version of the game. He has only scored 1656 runs in 33 Test matches, with an average of only 27.60, which isn’t very good. Also, to set the record straight about Ben Stokes, Key said that the red-ball captain will stay in the middle order, Crawley and Duckett will stay as the team’s openers, and Bairstow will replace Ben Foakes as the wicketkeeper-batsman.