Losing those first two Ashes Tests was the making of us: Zak Crawley

All the talk around Bazball and its productivity in Test cricket was seriously contemplated when Australia handed two straight defeats to England in Birmingham and Lord's. The belief was shattered, and everyone and their grandmother were sure that this was the end of Bazball.

But the reality was anything but that. The Ben Stokes-led England bounced back in some style to win the Headingley Test by three wickets and a draw at Manchester later, they gave a wonderful farewell to Stuart Broad by winning the final Test at the Kennington Oval in London. The series was squared and England got their belief back.

“We had to put some pressure back on them,” Zak Crawley, an integral member of the setup, revealed how the mindset change helped them, in an interview with The Times. “The lads played really well actually. I think losing those first two Tests was the making of us. At the time you think it is the worst thing that can happen to you, but I think it really brought us out of our shells and we played really well in those last three games. We played with more freedom. That is a result of losing.”

With 480 runs at an average of 53.33, Crawley was the series' second-highest run-scorer after Usman Khawaja. It was important for England because the investment they made on the Kent opener was immense and his success meant England are slightly more confident coming into the India series in January 2024.

“It didn’t really click for me in 2022. I was still in my old mindset of trying to get a score — ‘I need runs to stay in the team’— but, when I decided I was going to relax a bit more and start enjoying the game a bit more this year, what he was saying finally clicked. It’s about the journey and chasing those moments, even individual moments, little impacts — they’re much more enjoyable than trying to grind out a score, certainly for someone like myself.”