Michael Vaughan has admitted that Zak Crawley “frustrates the life out of me” but insists England should persevere with the opener after another mixed performance in the Ashes.
Crawley began the final Test of the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground as England’s leading run-scorer, only to fall for 16 on the opening morning. The 27-year-old was lbw to Michael Neser after adjusting his technique for the match by moving his guard across the stumps and playing across a straight ball that jagged back.
“He looks such a good player and then just gets out,” Vaughan said on BBC Test Match Special. “The ball that got him out should not have got him out. There must be something in his concentration.”
The dismissal came after a series in which Crawley’s contributions had swung sharply between promise and disappointment. He opened the Ashes with a pair in Perth, facing just 11 balls across the match, before responding with scores of 76 and 44 in Brisbane and a fighting 85 in Adelaide. His 37 at the top of the order in Melbourne proved crucial as England secured their first Test win in Australia for 15 years.
Vaughan, who captained England to the Ashes in 2005, believes Crawley has made technical progress during the series but continues to undermine himself at key moments.
“Zak Crawley frustrates the life out of me,” Vaughan said. “His concentration levels are not the strongest. Earlier in the series he was playing those big booming drives and chasing the ball outside off stump. Those shots have gone now.
“But today, watching him, that delivery should not get a quality opening batter out.”
Sydney was a familiar setting for Crawley, who made a career-defining 77 at the ground during England’s previous Ashes tour in 2021–22. Yet his overall record remains under scrutiny. After 103 Test innings as an opener, Crawley averages 30.82, the lowest average for any player with that many innings at the top of the order.
Despite that, Vaughan is convinced England should show patience.
“I hear fans saying he averages 30, but there’s a bigger average in him than he’s giving at the moment,” he said. “It’s just concentration. I know there is a lot more in the tank.
“The movement he had today was fantastic, but he needs to understand the concentration levels required at this level to go on and average 40 to 45 over the next two or three years. I think he could do if he finds that concentration.”
