Australia legend Shane Warne believes Zak Crawley "could be a real key" for England at the top of the order in the Ashes this winter.
Crawley was dropped from England's Test team during the recent series against India after a string of low scores and he is averaging just 11.14 in 2021.
However, Warne feels Crawley would be well-suited to playing in Australia and should open the batting for England at the Ashes.
Speaking exclusively to Mirror Sport on behalf of Advanced Hair, Warne said: "I think young Zak Crawley has got a good game, he plays the short ball well.
"I thought the Indians just bowled really well to him, he just didn’t have the rub of the green.
"He plays back-foot shots pretty well and he’s made a 200 in Test cricket against a quality Pakistan bowling attack, so I think Zak Crawley could be a real key opening the batting.
"You’ve just got to make top order runs, if you lose two or three wickets early with the Kookaburra ball then you’re in a bit of trouble."
Former England captain Graham Gooch also believes England's openers will be key to their chances of success down under.
He told Mirror Sport: "England have got their woes in the batting order, they’ve got inconsistency and they’ve tried a lot of players that haven’t been successful.
"One of the most important ingredients in a cricket team is your opening batsmen and your opening bowlers because they set the tone.
Are you backing Zak Crawley to impress during the Ashes? Let us know in the comments section.
"If your opening batsmen get a good start, it protects the middle order and the aim of Test cricket is the same as it’s always been - bat well and bat once, bowl the opposition out twice.
"England have not solved that problem at the moment and I don’t think they’ll solve it by Australia, they’re too reliant on one player [Joe Root].
"Ben Stokes coming back will strengthen their batting lineup and give them a match winner at 5 or 6, 6 would be better for me as I’d like to see him bowl a bit more, but it’s the opening batsmen that’s our main issue.
"[Dawid] Malan I think will go, he’s got a good technique and a bit of experience and I think he’s there to stay for at least that series.
"It’s finding the opening batsmen to deal with a world-class bowling attack which won’t be easy."
Advanced Hair launched a brand new TV advert at their studio in Fitzroy Square with Shane Warne and Graham Gooch
