England's star batter Zak Crawley cited 'India series' example to warn Pat Cummins-led Australia for the upcoming Ashes series, which is scheduled to start from November 21. With the Ashes series slated to get underway in just over a month, Zak Crawley has already begun the mind games.
Bazball really winds them up, doesn’t it?: Zak Crawley
He fired a verbal shot at the Australian side by asserting that their aggressive 'Bazball' style of play genuinely 'winds them up'. Crawley even referenced the infamous dismissal of teammate Jonny Bairstow during the 2023 Ashes, an incident which had sparked a major controversy and highlighted the tensions between the two teams.
“Bazball really winds them up, doesn’t it? Which is great. If they get wound up, then that’s better for us. All that stuff after the last series, talking about ‘the moral Ashes’ after what happened with Jonny Bairstow, that was just a consequence of us drawing the series. In my eyes, if they’d won, they would never have said it, so it’s a compliment that they felt the need,” Crawley said to The Times as quoted by Fox Cricket.
The incident involving Jonny Bairstow occurred just before lunch on the fifth day of the Lord's Ashes Test. Bairstow was dismissed via a stumping at a critical juncture, with England five wickets down and still needing 178 runs to win the match. The dismissal happened after Bairstow successfully ducked under a short ball delivered by Cameron Green. Crucially, after avoiding the delivery, he casually scratched the crease with his boot and began to walk out of his crease towards his batting partner, Ben Stokes, who was at the non-striker's end, assuming the ball was dead.
“Do I want to win in that manner? The answer for me is no," Ben Stokes had earlier said.
Crawley further asserted that in the series against India, England clearly demonstrated that they 'will not be rolled over'. That particular England versus India series was itself rife with tension and controversies.
So it’s important to stand up for yourself: Crawley
The on-field heat included an incident where Crawley got into a tiff with India's Shubman Gill during the 3rd Test at Lord's. The series concluded with a controversial moment in the Manchester Test, which featured the infamous handshake row involving Ben Stokes and Ravindra Jadeja.
“Jonny Bairstow always said, ‘You’ve got to stick your chest out against Australia’. And I think he’s right, even if that’s not your personality, you’ve got to show them. They’re very competitive, they’re very good at cricket, and they’re in your face and want to get on top of you. So it’s important to stand up for yourself and I feel like we showed in the India series we’re not just nice guys who are going to roll over. That’ll be important in Australia, to front up at times. And I like that side of it,” Crawley concluded.