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*Official* South African tour of England and Ireland 2022

StephenZA

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Yes, but it's totally counter-intuitive for an ambitious young professional sportsman to make himself unavailable for selection.
Hence my saying it would not be easy... but if it was best for himself and his team, it may enhance his future career. Or he can keep sucking out what little he has hurting both his own reputation as well as hurt his team... but that does require a level of pragmatic and unselfish behavior. Of course he could think he is the bees knees and one knock away from changing the world...
 

BoyBrumby

Englishman
Hence my saying it would not be easy... but if it was best for himself and his team, it may enhance his future career. Or he can keep sucking out what little he has hurting both his own reputation as well as hurt his team... but that does require a level of pragmatic and unselfish behavior. Of course he could think he is the bees knees and one knock away from changing the world...
It's a slightly invidious position for him to find himself in, even ignoring the cruddy form.

If he did stand himself down the usual questions about "desire" & "ticker" would be asked by the gentlemen (and it's mostly gentlemen, still) of the fourth estate (and by half-arsed dilettantes on internet fora like me, in all likelihood), but by so doing he's also effectively saying "I know better than you" to the powers that be who've stuck by him through thin and anorexic.
 

wpdavid

Hall of Fame Member
I'm trying to think of precedents for players standing down due to lack of form. Denness during the 1974/75 Ashes springs to mind. Perhaps Boycott six months earlier, although there were numerous factors other than being Solkar's bunny.
 

Magrat Garlick

Rather Mad Witch

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
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
What is the relevance of the part about his schooling and his father's wealth? (this isn't a potshot at you). So he had a good upbringing with access to resources...so? Brendon McCullum grew up in NZ domestic changing rooms, listening to some of the greats of the game, getting throwdowns from them etc. Conversely, Jesse Ryder grew up sleeping on a garage floor with an alcoholic father. Life is different for everyone.

If the insinuation is that Zac Crawley is getting picked because he's a public school boy, well...I can't imagine Brendon McCullum gives three ****s about that, nor Ben Stokes. They're just potentially backing their man in too far. I can see why, based on the 77 at Sydney, the ton in the Windies and the way he hits it when he's in. But yeah, it's definitely time for him to go. I'm shocked he averages less than 30 at FC level.
 

kevinw

State Captain
The insinuation is more that ZC, on talent alone, is probably not even FC level. The opportunities that he had as a young man, including regular access to Kent's facilities and tours of India and Australia probably squeezed a bit more out of him. But you still have a guy averaging under 30 at FC level despite all that.
 

Chubb

International Regular
It’s also that he appears to be given more rope than people like Lawrence and Hameed who don’t come from privilege. If he was scoring runs none of it would matter.
 

Father Time

School Boy/Girl Cricketer
Was at Lords on day two. The South Africa team were fabulous. In the pre game warm up they do some really intense fielding drills & they look fit, healthy, well coached, full of athletic ability, together, & a happy group. England just kicked a football around like undisciplined Schoolkids. That feeling showed itself again & again throughout the day.

Our batting was abysmal, we gave every wide ball a chase with very few attempts at leaving it. Crawley needs to head back to Kent 2nds, Stokes needs to get his head down & start being a proper Test six again. We lack a strong bowling all rounder at eight. The SA pace had us scrambling & if they keep that level going they’ll only be one winner. Broad was totally useless with the ball & Potts struggled. We need to find a way of getting Harry Brook into the team, perhaps sacrificing Ben Foakes. I’d change both openers, unless Lees is allowed to play his normal game. Robinson in for Broad, as Anderson did ok. We really miss Archer, Stone, or Wood, for pace.

But what a fantastic turnaround by South Africa! Credit to them!
 

Father Time

School Boy/Girl Cricketer
Been watching some County Cricket, & Compton, Jennings, Brook, Lawrence, Hain, all look good. Duckett has a lot of runs. Compton is just under 1300 runs now. Sibley has worked hard & changed his technique a bit & might be worth another shot. I liked what I saw of Bohannon, Yates, last season. Toby Roland Jones is back on top form with 48 wickets, he never let us down before his injury & would apply more pressure than Broad We do have a lot of talent, it just never gets selected. It really is jobs for the boys. Must be infuriating for these players.
 

Chubb

International Regular
Was at Lords on day two. The South Africa team were fabulous. In the pre game warm up they do some really intense fielding drills & they look fit, healthy, well coached, full of athletic ability, together, & a happy group. England just kicked a football around like undisciplined Schoolkids. That feeling showed itself again & again throughout the day.
To be fair, in his autobiography Ross Taylor says this was very much an NZ thing during McCullum's time and after - it helped the players relax and not get too hung up on technique and nerves, to the point they'd talk more about the soccer on the way to games during the 2019 World Cup.
 

RossTaylorsBox

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
What is the relevance of the part about his schooling and his father's wealth? (this isn't a potshot at you). So he had a good upbringing with access to resources...so? Brendon McCullum grew up in NZ domestic changing rooms, listening to some of the greats of the game, getting throwdowns from them etc. Conversely, Jesse Ryder grew up sleeping on a garage floor with an alcoholic father. Life is different for everyone.
Feel like you partly answered your own question here.
 

Flem274*

123/5
It didn't suddenly transform a bunch of journeymen Kiwis under Mccullum into world beaters
it did though, well sort of. going by both captains' autobiographies it looks like getting the cancerous senior players (who weren't even good) out was the best move mccullum made because they stood directly in the way of both taylor and mccullum's efforts as captain to get a better work ethic and higher goals into the young players.

they're playing bad atm but the core of the current nz side are directly involved from the buy in mccullum gets from people into team first, clear head culture, and they've consistently been top 3 in all formats until now. england would love that.
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
Feel like you partly answered your own question here.
Did I? You mean in a way that everyone has a story, and henceforth they printed his? I felt like it was being used as a subtle inference that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and was continuing to be picked because he is upper class. Or certainly I saw that being inferred in this thread.
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
It’s also that he appears to be given more rope than people like Lawrence and Hameed who don’t come from privilege. If he was scoring runs none of it would matter.
OK, but that's correlation (sort of), not causation. It's far from certain that Crawley continues to be picked because he's privileged/fits the right mould for English cricket.
 

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
OK, but that's correlation (sort of), not causation. It's far from certain that Crawley continues to be picked because he's privileged/fits the right mould for English cricket.
Yeah I think Chubb was projecting a bit when he said that was people's gripe with it. It's definitely Chubb's gripe with it (lord knows), but I think most people just think he's favoured because he's part of the inner circle and looks good at the crease. Even though he sucks he definitely does *look* like he has a lot more upside than Hameed - just look at how hb fawns over him, he definitely doesn't care which school he went to.
 

Chubb

International Regular
Yeah I think Chubb was projecting a bit when he said that was people's gripe with it. It's definitely Chubb's gripe with it (lord knows), but I think most people just think he's favoured because he's part of the inner circle and looks good at the crease. Even though he sucks he definitely does *look* like he has a lot more upside than Hameed - just look at how hb fawns over him, he definitely doesn't care which school he went to.
Yeah look I know, I acknowledged that. But I didn't make Vithu Ethnarajah write that article.
 

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
Yeah look I know, I acknowledged that. But I didn't make Vithu Ethnarajah write that article.
You can have a meeting in a phone booth next week.

(I know all about those, I chair twelve of them. It's just important to know when you're having them...)
 

honestbharani

Whatever it takes!!!
just look at how hb fawns over him, he definitely doesn't care which school he went to

Lol.. i know it's become a CW meme but al i have ever said is that Crawley has a much higher ceiling than someone like Pope. He does need to figure out how to leave balls outside off and get into an innings for sure. FTR, I feel the same about Dan Lawrence and heck, even Keaton Jennings.
 

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