Ashes 2023: Scott Boland removes Zak Crawley for third time
England are in a spot of bother in the ongoing Ashes 2023 opener at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Though the hosts earned a seven-run lead in the first innings, they were reduced to 28/2 at stumps on Day 3. Meanwhile, the innings saw opener Zak Crawley falling prey to Australian pacer Scott Boland for the third time in Tests. Here we decode their rivalry.
Third dismissal against Crawley
It was a good-length delivery from Boland which swung away a little bit and found the edge of Crawley's blade. Wicket-keeper Alex Carey did the rest. The batter had to walk away after scoring just seven. Notably, Boland dismissed the opener in England's first innings as well. Boland has now dismissed Crawley thrice in six meetings, conceding just 39 runs off 111 deliveries.
Best bowling average since 20th century
Standing in his ninth Test, Boland has snapped up 35 wickets. His tally includes a solitary fifer. His bowling average of 16.22 is the best in Test cricket since the 20th century among bowlers with at least 30 wickets. The pacer stands fifth on the overall list. 20 of his wickets have come in four Tests against England.
A menace in the second innings
Out of 35, Boland has taken 23 wickets in the second innings. He averages a mere 7.86 in this regard. In the second innings of the recently-concluded ICC World Test Championship final, Boland dismissed Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja on consecutive deliveries. It was the sixth time that Boland took multiple wickets in an over, the joint-most by any bowler since his debut.
Consistency has been an issue for Crawley
Crawley, who managed a 73-ball 61 in the first innings, has struggled to deliver consistently. Having played 35 Tests now, he has scored just 1,792 runs at 28.44. The tally includes three tons and nine fifties. Though his strike rate has surged to 71.93 under Ben Stokes's captaincy, his average is just 28.20, the least among England batters with 350-plus runs since June 2022.
