England Under Pressure as Crawley Hints at Hammering Ashes Defeat

England is close to facing yet another Ashes defeat, as Australia has tightened its grip in the Adelaide test firmly. They dominated the visitors on day four of the test, taking wickets at regular intervals to halt the scoring rate of England. The fragile state of the batting lineup has given England a harsh realization that their free-style approach to test cricket is not working in Australian conditions.

The opening batter of England, Zak Crawley, admitted this cruel reality. He said Australia bowled very well in the second innings, giving England not much room to play their shots freely. Keeping this in view, he acknowledged that their traditional style of play isn’t working, as it is very difficult to execute in Australian conditions.

"They've bowled very well, and haven't given us a lot. You look at [Scott] Boland, just for one of them. He just very rarely misses, and so it's hard to play that way that we have in the past, perhaps.” says England opening batter, Zak Crawley.

He then said that test batting in Australia requires a hard grind, which is why scoring quickly is not an option here. He credited the way Australia bowled in the second innings, saying their players stuck to the plan and backed it up with tight field settings.

"They have to get credit for that there and they set good fields, in fairness to them. It's just an attritional style of cricket over here, and they don't allow it. It's not as easy to score quickly out here." said Zak Crawley.

The opening batter then said that Australia’s bowling attack is by far the best he has come against in test cricket. He added that everyone in their lineup understands their role, which is why they do not give many freebies to batters.

"They're the best bowling attack that I've played against, for sure, especially in these conditions, when it was spinning like that for [Nathan] Lyon. They don't give you anything, they make the ball move, and they're relentless.” said Zak Crawley.

He then admitted that England have not been at their best in the recent games. They knew about this challenge while coming to Australia, but unfortunately, they didn’t deliver their best.

"We knew that coming in. We knew we had to be at our best, and unfortunately, we've been just short of that. But in fairness to them, they've been phenomenal for the last three games." said Zak Crawley.

Facing Difficulties to Perform in Australia

Crawley then explained that coming to Australia and performing in high profile matches is always a difficult job. He applauded the skills of the Australian team, saying that they played better cricket and made things hard for England on the field.

"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. I feel like it was always going to be tough coming up here against them. They were the favorites going into it and they've proven why. They've played very, very well and made it very hard for us.” said Zak Crawley.

"Obviously we've been slightly short of our best, but a lot of credit has to go to them: they've not allowed us to be our best, really.” added Zak Crawley.

The England batter then said that he always tries to improve by taking lessons from every match. He also tries to keep things simple, as that allows him to play with a clear mindset on the field.

"You're always looking to get better, and find ways that you can compete better. I do like to keep it simple though, and I do just think they've been better than us. A lot of the time, especially in England, we look internally and go, 'Oh, what could we have done better?'” said Zak Crawley.

Speaking about his knock in the second innings of the Adelaide Test, Crawley said that he was just trying to play the ball on its merit. It really helped him settle in the middle, although Australia didn’t give him many freebies to score freely.

"I was just trying to see-ball and hit-ball, really. I wasn't purposely a bit slower. They bowled well. They didn't give me a lot early. I was just trying to just play every ball on its merits… it wasn't on purpose." said Zak Crawley.

He then admitted honestly that England is now close to a big defeat in the Adelaide test, which means their dreams to win the Ashes in Australia are about to end.

"It's disappointing. We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now. There'll still be plenty to play for [in Melbourne and Sydney] and we'll definitely view it like that." concluded Zak Crawley.