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Former England captain Michael Vaughan was left frustrated by opener Zak Crawley after Ben Stokes-led side's first-ever Test defeat to India at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Vaughan came down heavily on Crawley, wondering how his batting technique took a shift from facing world no.1 bowler Jasprit Bumrah and then changing his stance, playing away from body, leading to scores of 19 and 0 in Edgbaston Test.
"The performance of the top three, led by Zak Crawley, was deeply frustrating. Crawley played very well in the second innings at Headingley, and was an important part of an exceptional chase. But what intrigued me was how different he looked just a week later at Edgbaston," Vaughan wrote in his column on Telegraph.
"At Headingley, he lined up Jasprit Bumrah about as well as anyone I’ve seen. His alignment and technique looked excellent. He was more upright and his feet were inside off stump, and he was just playing for the straight delivery. At the start of his innings, he left the ball well outside off stump, which was the perfect game plan.
"I would love to know why this week, with Bumrah not playing, he suddenly moved two inches outside off stump in his stance. If you do that, you should know that anything outside your eye-line can be left well alone. Instead, he got out in both innings driving with half a bat, with his left foot staying down the middle of the stumps."
Vaughan frustrated by Crawley but calls him 'fortunate'
Vaughan feels Crawley has a mindset issue. He is frustrated with the opener's inconsistency and called him the 'luckiest' player for England.
"That is a mindset issue; he is so concerned about the straight ball, and being leg-before or bowled, that he has got out chasing wide balls in his last three innings. It’s bizarre because in Leeds, Crawley had shown what he can do, and that he can be disciplined," the 50-year-old said.
"There have been many players who have frustrated fans – including me – over the years, but he is right up there as the most frustrating I can remember. And in my time watching, playing for and covering England, he is the player luckiest to have won as many caps as he has.
"He has to count himself fortunate to have played 56 games while scoring just five hundreds and averaging 31. Among all the openers in history with more than 2,500 runs, he has the lowest average: 30.3. Crawley has batted 102 times in Test cricket, and been out in single digits 42 times."
Crawley has scored 88 runs from four innings in the Test series so far. He will have a point to prove at Lord's, London as action begins on July 10.
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