"You want people to enjoy" - Zak Crawley again defends England for putting fun before winning

England Test opener Zak Crawley is enjoying playing aggressive cricket under Ben Stokes. He has been key behind England getting fast starts in the format. He has been playing with the same approach since the time England delved into the "Bazball" method of playing Test cricket.

England won the first Test by an innings and 14 runs. Zak Crawley scored 76 off 89 balls as he played a big part in his team scoring 371 runs in the first innings. In the end, it proved to be more than enough for a struggling West Indies side.

Crawley addressed the pre-match press conference ahead of the second Test against West Indies in Trent Bridge and spoke about playing the Bazball form of Test cricket. He said that the team loves playing in the style as the fans love watching it.

That's Awesome To Hear: Zak Crawley On England Fans Praising Bazball

"I certainly feel we get more comments from people outside the ground saying, 'I watched you playing the other week, loved it.' That's awesome to hear, it's what you want. You want people to enjoy watching you play and I certainly feel that was heightened after the Ashes last year" said Crawley.

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He further spoke about the legacy of James Anderson. Anderson retired from international cricket after playing the first Test against the Windies at Lord's. He took four wickets to end with 704 Test wickets. Currently, he sits third in the list of top wicket-takers in Test cricket.

Anderson joined the England squad as a bowling mentor with the side after retiring from the game. Crawley said that he is looking forward to working with Anderson in that role.

"He (Anderson) said he's going to bowl in the nets. I just hope he's going to bowl cross-seam. I've faced enough seam-up balls from him. He'll put the ball wherever he wants I suppose. A few fluffers and half-volleys from now on I think, Jimmy" added Crawley.

England is playing at home for the first time since 2012 without James Anderson and Stuart Broad in a Test series. However, Crawley believes that the rest of the England bowlers will cover up for his absence. England added Mark Wood to their squad after Anderson's retirement.

Meanwhile, West Indies have named an unchanged XI for the second Test in Trent Bridge that lost the first Test. Shamar Joseph is a part of the XI and the Windies will hope for him to come to life at Trent Bridge and help his side level the series.

England after the first Test win against West Indies are still placed last on the WTC 2023-35 points table with 33 points from 11 Test matches. In the meantime, they have won four Test matches and lost six. West Indies, on the other hand, are placed sixth with just one win from five Test matches. The table is led by India who played the last two WTC finals.

West Indies play Test cricket next against South Africa, Bangladesh and Pakistan. England, on the other hand, play against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand.

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