'WHERE'S YOUR FRONT LEG?"

The England opening spot is up for grabs because of Zak Crawley's basic technical flaws, analysed here

Zak Crawley is exasperating. He can be majestic, even magnificent. And he can induce total misery. The talent is obvious, the imperious driving to balls that are not that full, the rapacious pulls to balls not that short. He is good to watch. I like his demeanour at the crease. Taking the first ball in an Ashes Test match, any Test match, indeed any match, is gallant, courageous, almost foolhardy. He handles the challenge in a relaxed, calm manner. It looks as if he enjoys the spotlight.

That is no guarantee of success of course, and I have always thought, in spite of some brilliant individual innings, that his technique was horrible. This is chiefly because he does not make proper use of his athletic, 6ft 4in frame. Basically he barely ever plays forward transferring his weight onto the front foot with a bent knee and using his considerable reach (which someone like Kevin Pietersen, or before him Graeme Hick, exploited.) Crawley is the kind of batter to whom a mouthy bowler who has the skill to go with his sledging might exclaim “Mate – did you bring a front leg?!”

His head position and lack of weight transfer is the source of many of his problems. And just for the record he has made barely 50 runs in 5 innings this season (including pre-season friendlies) and been dismissed lbw in at least four of them, the last of which – versus Durham – is in the sequence below.

Crawley lbw Potts. 1. Very open stance. 2. Foot moves across rather than towards ball. 3 Head outside the line, stiff front leg

Matt Potts dismissed him twice the same way in that match. Notice how little his front foot has moved when struck, with barely any bend in the knee, suggesting his weight is in no-man’s land. Any experienced seamer will spy this with a glint in his eye and seek to bowl straight and on a full length. If it nips slightly one way of the other, he’s history. Matt Henry did him for a pastime in New Zealand, against whom he averaged 8.66 in three Tests the winter before last. And who are England’s Test opponents in June….?!

Ok, look I have had my say. Let’s hear from a highly experienced batting coach Toby Radford, a former Middlesex colleague of mine, who has worked with a number of different international teams. “Zak’s head is drifting across to the offside at ball release and his hands being taken well outside off stump in early ball flight. As the deliveries move back (angle, swing or seam) towards the stumps, Zak is then forced to play across the line of the ball, which makes him vulnerable to lbw / bowled and to edging behind if the ball then swings away.”

“I’d bring his front foot further across [in his stance] and make him slightly more side on - bring his weight down the wicket. Encourage him to bring head forward towards the stumps - if it’s coming straight it can’t drift across to the offside.” (The simplest way to deal with it is to ensure your head is always going towards the ball. The feet will follow.)

It is a common problem. The strange thing is Crawley has played 140 first class matches and hasn’t fixed it. It’s one of the reasons he averages only 31.8 in first class cricket (slightly less in Tests) which is far lower than it should be for a player of his obvious eye, ball-striking ability and balanced mentality.

England’s most prolific opener Alastair Cook always tried to have his front foot ‘floating’ as the ball was halfway down, delaying its final positioning until it was a fraction closer. Joe Root does this too (see below) enabling the ball to be driven (or blocked) on the front foot just as the weight is fully transferred through a firmly planted foot and a bent front knee. Its the definition of perfect timing.

Root's floating front foot, head over the line and full weight transfer through bent front knee

Root’s method is not totally foolproof, but it is better than playing French cricket and being a sitting duck to those gnarly, nagging seam bowlers. Having said all that Crawley will probably unleash his power and frustration on Northamptonshire in this next round of matches and notch up a scintillating hundred. But I’ll bet there’ll be some close lbw shouts before he gets there.

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