"Serial slip catch giver surfaces again" - Twitter roasts Zak Crawley after another failure in Lord's Test against South Africa

It was another tough day in the office for Zak Crawley as he departed for nine runs against South Africa.
It was another tough day in the office for Zak Crawley as he departed for nine runs against South Africa.

Zak Crawley's woes as a Test opener reached another abyss as he perished for nine runs in the Lord's Test against South Africa on Wednesday (August 17). This comes on the back of repeated failures at the top of the order for the Kent opener.

Having seen fellow opening partner Alex Lees nick behind to Kyle Verreynne off Kagiso Rabada, Crawley took a bit of time to assess the conditions. He even struck a firm on-drive off Lungi Ngidi, suggesting that he was up for a scrap after England were asked to bat first by the visitors.

However, it didn't take Rabada too long to induce his outside edge, with Aiden Markram snaffling a good low catch at second slip. If anything, it was archetypal of what has become a pattern associated with the right-handed opener, whose issues outside the off-stump have resurfaced again.

Despite his first-class batting average dipping below 30, Crawley has been backed by the England team management. The Twitterati didn't hold back after he failed again and had plenty to say about the same.

Here are some of the reactions:

England lose Root and Bairstow on either side of the drinks break

South Africa's captain Dean Elgar opted to bowl first under the overcast conditions at Lord's and the move paid dividends. After Kagiso Rabada removed openers Alex Lees and Zak Crawley, Marco Jansen and Anrich Nortje took over to keep the momentum going.

Jansen trapped Joe Root in front for eight and despite the top-ranked Test batter opting for a review, ball tracking confirmed that it would have clipped leg stump.

Soon after the drinks break, Jonny Bairstow's middle stump was flattened by the velocity of Nortje. The in-form Yorkshireman, who has four centuries to his name this summer, departed for a duck.

At the time of writing, England are 80/4 at the end of 22 overs. Skipper Ben Stokes is currently batting on 10 while Ollie Pope looks well set on 42 off 60 deliveries. The hosts have their task cut out, with South Africa's four-man seam attack making the ball talk in the bowler-friendly conditions.

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