England selectors back Zak Crawley ‘to the hilt’ despite run of low scores

England have rallied behind Zak Crawley ahead of their first Test of the summer, with selector Luke Wright insisting: “We back him to the hilt”.

Crawley had an up-and-down time of it on Friday, retaining his place in a 13-man squad to face Zimbabwe later this month, only to be dismissed in single figures for the fourth time in this season’s Rothesay County Championship.

Pressure is building around the 27-year-old, who averaged just 8.66 in a torrid tour of New Zealand before Christmas and found himself dropped in an overseas stint at the SA20. When he fell lbw to Middlesex seamer Dane Paterson at Lord’s for six, it took his first-innings tally for Kent to eight runs in four attempts – offset by a couple of second-innings fifties.

England were never likely to ditch Crawley at this juncture, given their long-held faith in his prowess as a top-order disruptor, but a tough decision is looming.

Jacob Bethell is currently away at the Indian Premier League but made a big impression in New Zealand and will soon be firmly back in contention. With Jamie Smith also back after taking paternity leave in December, and the in-form Jordan Cox in the squad as batting cover, the squeeze is on.

“You have to back people when they’ve shown something. We back him to the hilt,” Wright said of Crawley’s retention.

“(Look at) the amount of runs he’s scored against top teams, India and Australia. Opening the batting in international cricket is incredibly tough… you will always have dips in form but you want to be loyal to people who have performed on that stage.

“He’s as good as anyone on his day and when he’s playing well. Life is looking at how well people can play on their best days.

“I’m sure he’s disappointed with his last six months, but that’s doesn’t mean he can’t have a great summer. We want to back him in and let’s hope it works.”

There was, though, a reminder that numbers do ultimately count as well as a nod to Bethell’s status as the coming man.

“Any players knows runs are their currency. Any batter wants to get runs. In international cricket someone is always under pressure or scrutiny from the outside and it’s no different,” said Wright.

“(Bethell is) an outstanding cricketer. He’s ticking on really well and we’ll be excited to have him back in the summer. He just keeps rising to the occasion.”

Captain Ben Stokes is hoping to play a fully-fledged all-rounder role at Trent Bridge, five months after badly tearing his hamstring, but will hope he does not have too much bowling do against the southern Africans.

He will instead rely on a new-look pace attack, thinned out by injuries to the likes of Mark Wood, Brydon Carse, Olly Stone and Chris Woakes.

That means a long-awaited first call-up for Sam Cook, the seam-bowling standard bearer of the domestic circuit and owner of 318 first-class wickets at 19.77, alongside Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts and the returning Josh Tongue. Within hours of the announcement, Essex announced Cook had signed a new three-year contract.

He has had to wait for his chance, frequently overlooked for others with greater speed and lesser statistics, but now has an opportunity to show he can thrive without express pace.

“He’s had to be patient, yes. He’s kept knocking the door down, fair play to him,” explained Wright.

“Every time there is a different challenge and you think things will be stacked against him, he performs and still takes wickets. Yes he’s not up there at 85-86mph and that is fine because he’s got incredible skill.

“Speak to top-order batters in county cricket, he’s the one everyone fears the most.”

:: England squad to face Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge (May 22-25): Z Crawley, B Duckett, O Pope, J Root, H Brook, J Smith, B Stokes (c), J Cox, G Atkinson, M Potts, J Tongue, S Cook, S Bashir.