England Cricketer Zak Crawley preview ahead of West Indies at Trent Bridge
16/07/2024
Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, Nottingham, UK
16/07/2024
Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, Nottingham, UK
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00:00Almost the perfect way to start the series at Lord's, what feels like a new era. How
00:06low can the team improve here going into the second term?
00:10I mean, it was a pretty good performance. We were very happy with how we played across
00:13the board, but I think just the key now is to stick with it and maybe the team's gone
00:18barred in the past and maybe we've gone away from what works. I think what we can do now
00:22is stick with it throughout the whole summer and see where that leads us.
00:25There's a lot of talk of refining this aggressive approach. How does that look for you in the
00:31future?
00:33I think it just revolves around being really present, reading the game really well when
00:37you're out there. Maybe at times in India we didn't quite read the game as well as we
00:41could have and you get punished against a team like India, but the most important thing
00:47for us is to back ourselves, keep being brave and be really present when we're out there.
00:51You've had an aggressive approach re-advancing, does that change at all?
00:54Say that again, sorry?
00:55You've always been very aggressive, the way you've asked to talk, does that change going forward?
01:00No, absolutely not. No, I'm going to continue to be aggressive. I think we all are. I think
01:03that's why we've been backed, especially me, over a period of time. I think we're naturally
01:07all quite aggressive players and I just want to keep back my instincts and that is to be
01:12quite aggressive. Like I say, at times you've got to read the game and rein it in in certain
01:16times, but naturally it's going to be quite aggressive. I think we all are.
01:20Five batters, made 50, but didn't reach three figures. Is that something you can work on here to give it more ruthless?
01:28I don't think so. I'm not a huge fan of the term ruthless when I'm batting. I feel like
01:33the harder you try, the worse it gets. A lot of those times when you get out because you're
01:38trying too hard to get 100 or a score. I think all our best knocks as a group have come when,
01:43like I say, you're just present in the moment and you just keep playing. Sometimes you get
01:46some good balls. There were some good balls flying around the other day, but I think you've
01:50just got to relax and let it flow and that's when the really big scores come.
01:53It was an emphatic win, but we've seen the West Indies come back from these positions.
01:57How wary are you guys of that?
02:01Absolutely. We don't take anyone for granted. They've got some really, really good players
02:06who are very capable of taking the game away from us, so we've got to be sharp and perform
02:12like we did at Lourdes. It was a really good performance and we want to back that up again here.
02:15Away from Nigeria, Southgate has announced he's going to step down as England's Football
02:19Manager. Just your reaction to that, if you don't mind. What sort of legacy do you think
02:24you'll leave and the impact it's had on the team?
02:28I actually didn't know that, but it was awesome to see how united the country has been. Every
02:35tournament we've gone well. The pubs have been full, the atmosphere has been awesome
02:39around the country and I've loved it. When I first joined up, we weren't really getting
02:44very far, so to see us get to a couple of finals, a couple of semis, has been awesome
02:48and he's got to deserve a bit of credit for that.
02:55Talking about energising the country and the united people, can you tell us what it was
03:00like after the Lourdes test day? All the fans on the pitch stayed around, it was a big celebration.
03:05Did it feel like a good moment of connection?
03:08Absolutely, yes. It was an awesome moment to be in the changing room when Jimmy retired
03:13and I'll always remember that. It was great of the game. It's just an honour to play with
03:19him and to see those celebrations at the end. Everyone was so happy for him that he could
03:22go out like that with all the people there and he was on the balcony, obviously everyone
03:26saw that as well. It was brilliant.
03:29How do you feel about this team's connection with the fans and the country? It's something
03:33that's been quite front and centre of what Baz and Ben have been trying to do last summer
03:38obviously with the Ashes, you got the head of speed. Do you feel like this team is really
03:42close to its fan base?
03:44I don't know to be honest, it's a good question. I certainly feel like we get more comments
03:49from people outside of the ground saying they watched you play last week, loved it and stuff
03:54like that, which is awesome to hear. That's what you want, you want people to enjoy watching
03:57you play and I certainly feel that's heightened after the Ashes last year and that's what
04:03we want. We're here to provide something for the English people to enjoy and hopefully
04:08we can keep doing that.
04:09Can I ask, are you expecting Jimmy to turn as a netballer for you?
04:15He is, he said he's going to bowl in the nets, I hope he's going to bowl cross seam. I've
04:19faced enough seam up balls from him. A few fluffers, a few half-volleys, he'll put the
04:24ball wherever he wants I suppose. Just half-volleys from now on I think, Jim.
04:29Zac, as Jimmy retired, Stuart retired in the last summer, do you feel like there's a bit
04:33of a change in the guards in this team? Do you now feel like a senior player? Guys like
04:38you and Bobby have both been around for quite a long time now, quite a few caps, do you
04:43feel like a senior player?
04:45Certainly a change in the guards, it's really good to see some young talent coming in, Gus,
04:50Dylan, lots of other guys, Pottsy. These guys are really talented bowlers and I find them
04:56hard to face, so they're all going to go well when they get the chance, like Gus did.
05:01In terms of senior player, it's weird in our environment, we're a very tight-knit group
05:05and we're all encouraged to add to the environment, help the environment. Even Dylan coming
05:11in for his first game, you're encouraged to help everyone around you. I feel like we all
05:16have that responsibility. Of course I feel like I have a responsibility to my teammates
05:20to help them, but I think that's across the board to be honest. I don't feel like I'm
05:26more of a leader than anyone else.
05:28What about Dylan Eddington, have you faced him in the Canterbury this year or the Nets
05:32last week?
05:34I haven't faced him in the game, but I faced him in the Nets last week and he's a really
05:37good bowler. Very skilful, hits a good area, big lad and I think he'll go really well when
05:43he gets his chance.
05:51I'll ask about the 70-odds that you're getting this year. You said earlier that you're not
05:57going to assess them through things, so you obviously take 70 when you walk out the back
06:02of zeroes. How do you feel about that? How can you kick those on?
06:08It's an interesting one. I haven't given it too much thought to be honest. I'm just pleased
06:12to be playing well and trying not to be putting too much pressure on myself. Obviously you
06:15want more runs. You get 190, you want 290. Every time you get out you're disappointed,
06:20that's a given. I don't think I've ever got out and not been disappointed. You've just
06:26got to keep being yourself, keep playing your way of the game and hopefully I start getting
06:31bigger scores. But we won the game, so I was happy with that. If I'd have got 76 and we'd
06:35have lost, I'd have looked back and gone, jeez, I could have got 150. But we won, so
06:40I was very happy with it.
06:42Do you have any ambitions this summer? I'm talking about changing the card and testing,
06:46but you've been in the white ball team, two World Cups now, done in the last six months.
06:50Do you see that now? Are you willing to get in that white ball side to face Australia
06:54at the end of the summer?
06:55Of course, absolutely. I'd love to. Who wouldn't? I've got big aspirations in white ball cricket.
07:02I've got to earn my place, I've got to earn my spot with runs and consistent performances
07:06or maybe a couple of really outstanding knocks. But absolutely, certainly in my eyesight,
07:12I want to be part of that team.
07:16It's your 45th test tomorrow, Zach, and you've been part of the Fiction fittings now for
07:21four or five years. Your average is about 33 in the 40s, which has traditionally been
07:25seen as the benchmark for international test players. Apart from your penis answer of scoring
07:30all the runs, how are you going to make up the shortfall? Does that not matter to you
07:35in terms of your average? Where do you want to start?
07:41It certainly doesn't bother me, the average, no. But I'd like to win more games for England
07:48going forward. That's kind of what I judge it off. I probably haven't won that many games.
07:54I've played some really good knocks, but that's my main goal going forward, is how many
07:59match-winning performances can I get for my team. I've certainly never looked at my
08:04average and gone, oh, I hope I can get one higher, or things like that. It's a pretty
08:08tough place to bat. They open the bat in England, half your games here, and other places in
08:13the world it's a pretty hard place to bat as well. I don't get caught up in things like
08:18that, otherwise I'll get pretty down myself a lot of the time. I try to keep my chin up
08:22and try and win games for England.
08:24You've got a mindset of just focusing on the team performances?
08:31My individual performance, which will help the team, for sure. Like I say, I got 76 last
08:36week and we won, so I was happy with that. If I'd have got 76 and we'd have lost, I'd
08:40have questioned myself whether I could have got more. But if I get runs and we win, I
08:45see that as I've done my job.
08:50Does the room want to do a separate five minutes now, afterwards?
08:56OK.
08:58Happy days.
09:01Cheers.