Can someone please summarize the Crawley situation to me? I understand he is favoured by the management, but *why*?
The management have repeatedly given him full-throated support over the last few months, to the point where Stokes literally said "he will be selected no matter what".
This has angered many people because it looks like favouritism. He comes from an extremely wealthy background and represents what many of us dislike about English cricket, though as an individual he's known to be diligent and hard-working. We compare how he is being treated with how Hameed, Dan Lawrence and others from different backgrounds have been discarded after a shorter run of low scores.
The reality is he made a huge score two years ago and the management believe that shows he has the potential to be world class. So they back him to do that again. McCullum and Stokes gave everyone a clean slate when they started so they discount his bad run of form last year as well. He's good in the dressing room, works hard and is supposed to be a good fielder (but seems to drop a lot of catches). He fits a template they want.
However, you can't really look past the fact his first class batting average is less than 30 and his own county have two, even three better openers available (Compton, Bell-Drummond and Denly). He looks completely mentally shot and persevering with him now seems to be doing more harm than good.
This is a good article that explains why he is seen as emblematic of ongoing issues in English cricket:
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/...rawley-is-running-out-of-ways-to-fail-1322870
I have said harsh things about him, and about the decision to keep him in the team; I know that is motivated by my own hang-ups and resentments. I also feel sorry for him because he shouldn't be in this situation. The system, and the ECB, are to blame, not Crawley himself.