England opener Zak Crawley is buoyed by the inclusion of new faces in England’s men’s squad for their Rothesay Test Match at Trent Bridge as several new additions look to make their mark.
The Three Lions take on their West Indian counterparts in the second of a three-Test series on Thursday 18 July, with limited tickets still available for days four and five.
Amongst the Test squad is Nottinghamshire’s Dillon Pennington, whose 31 Vitality County Championship wickets in 2024 – including a best of 5/96 in the draw with Somerset in West Bridgford – earned a first ever call-up to the men’s red-ball side.
The seamer is a step closer to making his Test debut – praising his adoptive county’s role in his call-up – while fellow newcomer Gus Atkinson took twelve scalps in his Lord’s bow last week.
“I haven’t faced Dillon in a game yet but I have faced him in the nets last week,” said Crawley,
“He’s a really good bowler. He’s very skilful, he hits good areas, he’s a big lad and I’m sure he’ll go well when he gets his chance.
“There’s certainly a change of the guard happening. It’s really good to see some young talent coming in – Gus [Atkinson], Dillon, Pottsy [Matthew Potts] – these guys are really talented bowlers who I find hard to face.
“We’re a very tight-knit group and we’re all encouraged to add to the environment. Even Dillon coming in for the first time, we’re all encouraged to help everyone around us. I feel like I have a responsibility towards my team mates to help them, but that’s the same across the board.”
Crawley top-scored for England in the series opener, tallying 76 from 89 balls before Jayden Seales found a breakthrough, with Ollie Pope (57), Joe Root (68), Harry Brook (50) and Jamie Smith (70) all making key batting contributions.
Bowling out their visitors for 121 and 136, the top-order talisman was satisfied with England’s first summer red-ball outing.
“We were very happy with how we played across the board, but the key now is to stick with it and see where that leads us,” Crawley emphasised, “The important thing for us is to back ourselves and keep being brave.
“We’re all naturally quite aggressive players, and I want to keep backing my instincts. At times you have to read the game and reign it in at certain points but naturally we’re going to play aggressively.”
Despite a comprehensive innings victory in the capital to kick-off the men’s Test summer, Crawley warned that his side are fully aware of the tourists’ ability to bounce back.
A sensational seven-wicket haul for Shamar Joseph levelled West Indies’ series against Australia at the Gabba in January this year, as the two nations shared the Frank Worrell Trophy.
While the Windies will hope for a repeat comeback display, England will be under no illusions when they enter their Trent Bridge Test.
“We don’t take anyone for granted,” Crawley said.
“They’ve got some very good players who are very capable of taking the game away from us.
“We’ve got to be sharp and perform like we did at Lord’s.”
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