There must be a few other people who misremember Zak Crawley making a hundred at the SCG in 2022. The scorebook says 77, but it felt like a ton, the way he ended what must have been a miserable 12 months averaging 10 in Test cricket. Taking on Australia’s bowlers in the fourth innings, lacing drives either side of the wicket along the grass. In current England parlance, it had century vibes, and it did help them avoid a loss for the only time on that tour of Australia.
Pat Cummins and his team wouldn’t have been too worried about a repeat in Manchester this week. Initially everything was on track. Ben Duckett was again out early, showing a compulsive inability to leave the ball alone. Crawley and Moeen Ali were swishing and missing with regularity. More wickets were surely in train.
