“Looks a bit better to…” - Zak Crawley provides insights on Vizag pitch

England batter Zak Crawley provided the insights of the Vizag pitch for the second Test between India and England. He said that although he hasn’t seen the wicket himself but his teammates told him that the surface looks better for the seamers.

The Vizag pitch for the second Test between India and England is keeping everyone engaged. There have been many speculations about how will the surface play, especially after the hosts lost the first game in Hyderabad.

Many are of the opinion that BCCI might prepare rank turners to favor themselves and make up for the loss of the first game. The England batters tend to struggle against spin and that was the case when the last time they toured India.

The wicket for the first Test played well as it favored batters as well as spinners. England made good use of the conditions and outplayed the hosts to win the game by 28 runs. Zack Crawley played an instrumental role in England winning the game as he gave his team brutal starts in the game.

Zak Crawley scored 20 runs in the first innings and then followed it up with a 36-run knock in the second innings. His knock at the start ensured that England got off to a brisk start and put the team under pressure.

While talking about the pitch for the second Test, Zak Crawley said that the surface seems green. The batter also talked about the quality of the Indian side and said that it’s important for them to stick to what they want to do.

Zak Crawley also mentioned that they had good preparations in Abu Dhabi and it went the way they wanted. Speaking to reporters ahead of the second match against India, he explained:

“So, this wicket looks a bit better to seam, according to the guys, I haven’t seen it, like I said, but that’s what they said. It’s just a bit damper, I think here it seems like they’re a bit greener, so we’ll see what happens there.

“They’re absolutely a top side in their own conditions. There are four games left, we have got to stick to what we do well and hopefully, results come from there. It was exactly how we wanted The wickets in Abu Dhabi turned a lot because we wanted them and we made them turn.”

It takes the spin out of the plan – Zak Crawley on sweeping and reverse sweeping

Zak Crawley was further asked about England’s approach to play sweep and reverse sweeps. He said that playing such shots takes spin out of plan. He also stressed how they play the shots according to the field set by the Indian team. He added:

“I think sweeping and reverse sweeping when it’s spinning is a good option. It takes the spin out of the plan. I think the reverse sweep is more common for us, because there’s just less field in there.

They always seem to have two men out on the leg side. If they had two men out on the other side, we’d probably play the sweepâ€æthe reverse sweep comes probably just as naturally to us as the normal sweep.”

England would be hoping to replicate the Hyderabad performance in the upcoming Test. They would be hoping to take a 2-0 lead in the series.