ZAK CRAWLEY’S ARRIVAL
ABBAS HOOKS THE BIG FISH
Zoom, Joe Biden and… Zak Crawley. Not everyone had a rubbish time of it in 2020. The 22-year-old began it as a player of promise and ended it with a Test-best of 267. His stage was the third Test against Pakistan at the Ageas Bowl and from the opening strokes it was clear that a switch had been flicked. Lanky but languid, Crawley put a middling first-class record to one side to slap a crack Pakistan attack around with nearly every shot in the book. His magnum opus was the 10thhighest score by an England batsman, confirming both his top-order spot for the foreseeable and his love for run-making in Southampton: the knock took his Test tally at the venue to 406 runs from four innings, and a match-winning 54-ball 108 not out against Hampshire followed in a T20 three weeks later. TH