That’s it from us. Thanks for your company, correspondence and jokes about Blessing and Pope. The OBO will be back in the morning, and so will Ollie Pope – as long as Ben Stokes doesn’t declare overnight.
Zak Crawley is giving an interview. In England’s practice kit, black shorts and a purple sweatshirt, he looks more laid-back than ever. Next to Ian Ward, he looks even taller than usual.
“Fantastic to score a Test hundred,” he says, “and great for the team as well. With Ben playing as well as he did, I didn’t feel a heap of pressure. and then Popey played the same way… Always want a big score, disappointed when I got out, more runs were there for the taking.
“You obviously know that you’re under pressure but I just want to play well, find some rhythm – I love batting. The wickets haven’t been great for Kent, I’ve actually felt in decent touch for a couple of months now… I’ve been trying to stand a little bit taller, not trying to overhit the ball.”
Ward asks him about Adam Hollioake, Kent’s new coach. “I’ve loved having Smokey around,” Crawley says with a smile. “He’s a great guy and he gets you competing a bit more and that’s something I want to do as well, trying to win games for my team.”
