"They were prepared to go through the bad times" - Michael Atherton on Zak Crawley finally coming good for England

Former England cricketer Michael Atherton has praised Zak Crawley for repaying the faith shown in him by the management and also lauded the management for believing in the opener's abilities.

Crawley had been going through a rough patch of form last year, with many suggesting he be dropped from the Test side. However, captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum believed in Crawley's ability and the opener has been consistent for them since the tour of Pakistan. He smashed a stunning 189 on Day 2 of the ongoing Ashes Test in Manchester.

Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket's Ashes Podcast, here's what Atherton had to say about Zak Crawley's knock:

"It sums up what England have been expecting from Crawley. They were prepared to go through the bad times which are the low scores that they have seen because they know what the upside and the potential is. And we saw that today when he tore Australia apart."

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Michael Atherton on Australia's defensive field placings to Zak Crawley

Michael Atherton opined that Zak Crawley was allowed to settle into his innings quickly by the deep fields set by Australian skipper Pat Cummins right from the get-go. The former cricketer feels that gave Crawley ample time to rotate the strike before accelerating once set.

On this, he stated:

"I think one of the big differences have been the way Australia have set boundary fields to him (Crawley) with fielders back on both sides. It has almost taken the pressure off him to score boundaries because he knows that the boundaries are hard to come by.

"He takes singles and looks more settled and composed at the start of the innings. The acceleration comes later, but throughout the series he has looked more solid than we have seen him."

Crawley's sensational knock of 189 has put England 67 runs ahead after the end of play on Day 2, with six wickets still in hand.