Is it time for England to drop Zak Crawley from Tests?

England suffered an embarrassing defeat against visitors South Africa in the opening Test match of the series at the Lord’s, inside just three days. The Proteas were dominant throughout the match and ended up winning the match by an innings and 12 runs. The loss leaves Bredon McCullum with plenty to ponder on since this is Ben Stokes’ first loss in Tests since taking over from Joe Root.

The biggest worry for the English management will be the opening batting partnership, with Zak Crawley looking inept at scoring runs with the bat at the moment. Watching the Kent cricketer bat in whites is like watching a fish out of the water as he has managed six single-figure scores in the previous 10 innings, an unacceptable return from a top-order English batter, especially in red-ball cricket.

The opening batter averages 20 in all forms of cricket this year, and it drops to a mere 16 when it comes to Test cricket. It’s not just his low scores, but the manner in which he got dismissed. His last dismissal came against Keshav Maharaj’s third delivery in the match as he missed an innocuous straight delivery in a failed attempt of sweeping the bowler, only to be trapped plumb in front.

Crawley’s extended run in the team is owing to a terrific start in the Tests as he scored a sensational 267 against Pakistan in just his eighth match. But since then, he has breached the three-figure mark only once, earlier this year against West Indies, and has been a forlorn figure in the team. Although assistant coach Paul Collingwood has stated that they don’t look for consistency with the English opener, you don’t really need to make an argument for dropping Zak Crawley, he is doing it all by himself.

Ben Stokes is still adamant about making no changes to the team as it is just the first setback they have faced all summer, and they won’t overreact to it. But just like former England cricketer Mark Butcher stated live on commentary, it almost feels cruel that the selectors keep picking him even with his repeated failures. It is time for England to move on from Crawley and look at other viable options for the opening slot.