I owe it to myself to have a few more good performances
The patience has occasionally been rewarded and was on day two of the fourth Rothesay Test against India, where Crawley and Ben Duckett put on a buccaneering 166 in 32 overs at Emirates Old Trafford.
After helping England close on 225 for two in response to India's 358 all out, Crawley, who was dismissed for 84 at a ground where he made 189 in the 2023 Ashes, said: 'I have high standards for myself and I work very hard on my game.
Crawley has always been backed by Stokes and McCullum (Martin Rickett/PA)
'I always want more from myself and I've certainly wanted more for myself than I've got in the last year or so. That's just an internal thing, I don't feel that pressure from anyone else.
'I just feel like I owe it to myself to have a few more good performances. Days like this make the practice and the tougher times worth it a bit more.
'I certainly feel at my best when my body is relaxed. I managed to do that quite well here.
'I wanted more runs but I feel like I worked hard and earned those runs. I don't think I've ever got out in my life and not been annoyed and I was certainly annoyed (after getting out).'
Crawley and Duckett, who was also unable to get to a hundred after nicking off on 94, put England in the box seat just over a week on from being front and centre of a time-wasting row at Lord's.
A brilliant day for England! 🏴
We trail by just 1️⃣3️⃣3️⃣ runs with 8️⃣ wickets in hand.
Roll on tomorrow 💪 pic.twitter.com/6Sloskgfxa
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 24, 2025
India captain Shubman Gill accused England of contravening the 'spirit of the game', insisting England's openers arrived to the crease 90 seconds late in a testy seven-minute passage at the end of day three that hung over the rest of the third Test.
But Crawley said: 'I sit in my spot until the umpires go out, I saw them go out and I walked out. I wasn't aware we were 90 seconds late. I didn't think too much about that at the time or even now.
'I've always enjoyed that part of cricket, especially when you're batting where it's two against 11 and they're desperate to get you out and chirping you.
'Most of the time I probably let it slide but most of the time, I feel like it's a good chance to put it back on them. At Lord's, I loved that little passage. No one stepped over the line, it was just competitive cricket, I really enjoyed it.'
Stokes (centre) claimed his first five-wicket haul since 2017 (Martin Rickett/PA)
Ben Stokes claimed his first Test five-wicket haul since September 2017 to restrict India, who were remarkably able to call upon Rishabh Pant despite him suffering a serious injury to his right foot.
Less than 24 hours after retiring hurt on 37 and being taken off the field on a golf buggy, Pant resumed his innings although substitute fielder Dhruv Jurel is taking on wicketkeeper duties for the rest of the Test.
Amid a suspected broken metatarsal – India have not publicly confirmed the severity of his injury – Pant limped every time he moved forward before being bowled for 54 by Jofra Archer, who claimed three for 73.
India all-rounder Shardul Thakur said: 'We have seen him doing a lot of amazing things. And this was just another amazing thing that he did for the team.
'His pain bearing capacity is very high. If he is in pain, it is a big injury.'
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Ben Stokes enjoying ‘high quality' games between England and India despite draw
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Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
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Liam Dawson and Jofra Archer didn't hit the spot against India - and why a final Test rejig is needed for England, writes NASSER HUSSAIN
England were forced to work exceptionally hard on a backbreaking pitch in Manchester but when Jofra Archer and Liam Dawson needed to come to the fore, they didn't quite do it. After lunch on the fifth day, Archer didn't hit the top of off stump enough, and Dawson didn't hit the rough enough. Ben Stokes had bowled so well in the morning, and his success, leaning away when bowling to right handers, was why he bowled such a long spell. The reason he got the most out of the pitch from the Jimmy Anderson End was that he combined that lean away with aiming for where the cracks were and taking the ball onto the stumps from that angle. Compared to his colleagues, he made it look like it was two different pitches, hitting the deck really hard, creating uneven bounce, which was a remarkable effort with his shoulder injury. But the two left-handers Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja negated this as he had to bowl round the wicket and by the time he did so, he was also knackered and his shoulder was sore because he'd bowled such a long spell. So it was then down to Jofra Archer, England's best bowler against left handers, but he didn't quite get it right in the afternoon session. Which then meant Stokes turned to his other strong fifth day option - the left arm spin of Dawson. For his first Test match back in eight years, he bowled okay, I just think he missed that rough quite a bit, and it was noticeable walking off at tea, that Stokes called Dawson over, almost showing him where it was. Make no mistake. The reason there have been four out of four County Championship draws here at Old Trafford this summer is because for finger spinners there's not massive turn. Even Jadeja couldn't get it spitting. Yes, Dawson was picked to have an impact at the end of the game, but it's not like it was in Chennai or Galle or Mumbai. It was just offering a bit of turn, but because he doesn't quite have the drop of Shoaib Bashir, he can't quite get it up and down into that rough. He's short, and as he collapses a little bit in his action, he couldn't quite get it full enough. Stokes was leaving the gap, wanting the batsmen to drive so he could get them bowled through the gate. He hit that area a few times and it spun a bit, and he could have gone a bit wider to the right handers, but I wouldn't over-judge him because it was his first game back and it wasn't like he was bowling on a spitting cobra of a pitch. His dropped catch - one of three by England - would have hurt him, as it proved quite costly. India captain Shubman Gill was on 46, and his dismissal on day four rather than Sunday would have made it a different contest. England worked seriously hard for little reward and they obviously had some tired legs by the end. Stokes has got another Test match in three days' time at The Oval and he can't keep putting himself through that. If England had won here, I would have considered playing him as a specialist batter to continue his good form, or even tell him to have a blow, and get the shoulder sorted. But as it's a live game he's obviously going to have to play now, perhaps as a batter who bowls a bit. The final Test of the series has turned into a bit of a selection conundrum actually and I think it might require a bit of a rejig, with Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson coming in for Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes, who left the field at the end feeling his calf. Potentially you'd go for Jamie Overton as well, if Archer says he's not fit. The question is: can Archer go back to back? It's one only the individual can answer. With all the injuries he's had it would be fully understandable if he said he wasn't able to play a third straight Test and I might take the decision out of his hands even if he said yes.
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The moment of shared pain came in the first hour. Ben Stokes had already bowled four overs with a grimace, exuding weapons-grade main-character energy, constantly having to massage the source of discomfort by his right shoulder. His heart was still intact, though, as he burst through the crease. He had Shubman Gill dropped on 81 and dismissed the resolute KL Rahul for 90 with an lbw scuttler, the first wicket in more than two sessions. Gill, unbeaten on 90, faced up for the first ball of Stokes's fifth over. He would have been wary of the one bound to keep low, ready for pretty much any ball after facing 192 deliveries and spending two days in the field before that. But then came the explosion, the ball deflecting off his glove into the lid. The bat dropped, the helmet came off, the right hand his only concern. Stokes, even with this victory of sorts, looked broken. The pair could easily have fallen into an embrace like two punched-up heavyweights after going 12 rounds. Except both had to go on. Gill recovered and got to three figures – his fourth hundred of the series – launched his roar, then kissed and raised his bat. He had a look that said he was up for more, and a forward defence that has irritated England over the past month. It was natural to think of Ricky Ponting on this ground 20 years ago, another captain holding on for his team to secure the draw. But an awkward swish outside off against Jofra Archer brought the edge before lunch and sent him away for 103. England were ready to wrap up the series. Gill has had a peculiar summer, extraordinary batting feats to go with the stresses of his new role. With his hundred, he joined Don Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar, the only other two captains to hit four tons in a series. Gill is the first to do so away from home. He began this series with the reputation of a white-ball virtuoso still waiting to master the red. He will head to its conclusion with more records in danger, confirmation that he belongs at No 4, continuing the great lineage. Before him, Virat Kohli, before him, Sachin Tendulkar. But there's the brutality of being captain, too. Maybe there's been some respite for Gill when he has batted during this series, just the ball to focus on and none of the other noise. His side have been particularly muddled in this Test. They welcomed back the No 3 dropped after the first Test and, once again, favoured a struggling seamer over the brilliance of Kuldeep Yadav, a wrist-spinner whose continued absence has hurt not only India but the spectacle of this series, too. Gill waited an age to introduce the drift of Washington Sundar in England's first innings, a wasted opportunity after the off-spinner's excellence at Lord's. This is still a side trying to work it all out after the departure of giants, Kohli to go with Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin in retirement. Is it harsh to discuss flaws when Gill has done what he's done? That's just how this thing works. As Liam Dawson twirled away in his first Test in eight years, tasked with winning it on the final day, voices in the commentary box rightly honed in on what he was getting wrong, lines and lengths questioned, the comeback story quickly forgotten. The demands are high, particularly when you reach the level of Gill's office. What Gill's side does still have is fight with the bat. Ravindra Jadeja showed it at Lord's when he tried to win it in ones, only for late heartbreak at the other end. But he had a more capable partner this time, Sundar determined to stay the course and watch England combust, shrugs to go with hands on heads, the back half of the final day somehow devoid of any real drama. The hosts were having to contend with that unfamiliar result: a draw. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion As we entered the final 15 overs, the side that began Sunday dreaming of survival were happy to keep carrying on, centuries still on for both southpaws. Stokes fed India Harry Brook's pies to form a bizarre scene as Jadeja tucked in, finally hitting a hundred after four half-centuries in the series. Sundar still wanted to show off his forward defence before getting to his maiden Test century off 206 balls. They wanted to bat, bat and bat, just as Gill has done all series, a side playing in their captain's image.
