England opener Zak Crawley has stirred up a pitch controversy ahead of Day 3 of the ongoing first Test match in Hyderabad. The Rajiv International Stadium pitch provided a good spin on the first day due to the decent-length patches for spinners at each end being drier than the rest of the surface.
The pitches were a major talking point heading into the series. Following India’s loss in Cape Town in two days, Rohit Sharma criticized the ICC for their double standards towards Indian pitches, citing bad ratings for past World Cup pitches. Both teams have played three specialist spinners in the opening Test, with England fielding only one fast bowler to allow for additional spin options.
Speaking on TNT Sports ahead of the third day’s play, English opener Zak Crawley expressed his surprise at the amount of spin generated by the Hyderabad pitch on Day 1 of the game. He said that he enjoys coming to Asia and playing in Pakistan and India, but he was surprised by the conditions in the subcontinent.
“We were surprised by how much it turned on day one, we thought it would be turning more yesterday. Hopefully, we can use that today to get the three wickets.”
“I have loved it here, it is one of the things I love about Test cricket is going all over the world. I felt ready and prepared coming into this game, I’ve played in Pakistan and the conditions are similar here but it turns more. Pakistan was more about the reverse swing, the ball skidding on, but here we knew that spin was going to play a big part so that was a focus in my practice,” Zak Crawley said.
The 25-year-old scored only 67 runs during England’s previous tour to India in 2021. However, the ‘Bazball’ approach has revived his Test career, and his breakthrough performance came in the 2023 Ashes series against Australia, when he became England’s leading run-scorer, scoring 480 runs to solidify his place as the team’s opener. Crawley has started the series well against India, scoring 51 runs in two innings so far.
We Won’t Overcomplicate It And Hopefully, The Runs Come – Zak Crawley
Zak Crawley insisted that England will continue to play the positive brand of cricket against India and added that the team would look to play according to the situation in the game rather than overcomplicating things in the game.
“We will still look to play the same way, we will always take the positive option. If it’s not the time for it, we’ll play accordingly but we won’t overcomplicate it and hopefully, the runs come,” Zak Crawley added.
England is the last team to win a Test series in India in 2012, but they have already lost twice (0-4 in 2016-17 and 1-3 in 2021-22). They have entered India undefeated in a series under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum since May 2022, using an ultra-aggressive approach known as ‘Bazball’, and the team would be eager to put up a fight against the mighty Indian team on their home soil.
