AUS vs ENG: Zak Crawley Has Played Absolutely Beautifully - Michael Atherton

Michael Atherton has lauded Zak Crawley for playing beautifully in the ongoing Ashes finale. The fifth Test match between Australia and England is nicely poised on day 3 with hosts looking to get a big lead with two complete days of cricket left. England scored 283 in their first innings, while Australia in response scored 295.

England in their second innings made a rapid start quickly overtaking the lead and now have given themselves a lead of over 150. The Test series has so far been a see-saw battle between the two teams.

Australia outplayed England in the first two Tests and won them hands down. England made a remarkable comeback to win the third Test in Headingley. They were in a good position to win the fourth Test in Manchester but rain played spoilsport.

Also Read: AUS vs ENG: “Never Seen Australia Play With So Much Fear”- Michael Vaughan

He’s had a terrific series – Michael Atherton on Zak Crawley

On day 3 during the lunch break, Michael Atherton and Ricky Ponting discussed about the Test match so far and weighed in on who has the upper hand in the Test match. The former England skipper started off by praising Zak Crawley for his entertaining innings of 73 off 76 in the second innings. He scored his runs at a strike rate of almost 100.

“Zak Crawley has played absolutely beautifully. He’s had a terrific series, top run-scorer now on either side. He’s had a very consistent series as well just a couple of single-figure scores and that was one of the features of his batting in the run-up to this series as to how many low scores he’s been getting. He showed that he can be consistent in this series he’s made big strides,” said Atherton.

Also Read: AUS vs ENG: Sanjay Manjrekar Hails ‘Modern Great’ Steve Smith’s ‘Ball Sense’

Australia Have Been All Over The Place: Ricky Ponting

Next up it was Ricky Ponting’s turn to speak about how Australia fared so far in this Test match. Ponting said that his team was all over the place so far.

“Australia has been a bit all over the place on day 3 said Ponting. Australia’s highlight right from the series,when youhave got your ball on your hands they should have been ready to bowl best balls right from the start.”

He further said that England took advantage of Australia’s wayward bowling as Crawley got them off to a great start.

“Crawley hops into that first one, boundary first ball, 13 runs off the first over and then the pressure is back on the bowlers again. That’s exactly what England have been trying to do,” Ponting added further.

Ponting concluded yet again by bashing Australia for placing defensive field against Crawley right from the start. “We were not quite ready with the ball, quite ready to change the field,” Ponting concluded saying.

Australia are leading the series 2-1 and a win at the Oval will help them to win the series 3-1. England, on the other hand, are looking to make it 2-2.

Also Read: AUS vs ENG: “Have A Lot Of Sympathy” – Nasser Hussain Hails Nitin Menon For Making Correct Decision