Zak Crawley was not surprised when his phone rang this week and Rob Key’s name popped up on the screen. Perhaps he was already a dead man walking after a dismal Ashes series, but an average of 27.30 across 10 innings for Kent in the County Championship was the final nail in the coffin.
“I think he knew it was coming,” said Rob Key on Wednesday, after unveiling a new-look England squad which will see Durham’s free-scoring Emilio Gay take over as Ben Duckett’s opening partner. Crawley’s Test career can still be resurrected, Key insisted, but he simply hasn’t made the runs for county or country, and the 28-year-old must first recapture the majestic batting that propelled him to England contention in the first place.
