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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

Zak Crawley outlines Kevin Pietersen ambition as he eyes role in England World Cup defence

Zak Crawley has outlined his desire to become a regular for England in all three formats, admitting white-ball cricket "probably comes more naturally to me".

Crawley has been heavily backed by the Test setup, with head coach Brendon McCullum calling him a rare talent who will win games for England despite a middling record of 1,598 runs at an average of 28.53 after 57 innings.

And while Crawley says that red-ball cricket is his "priority" and "favourite format", he is also hoping to break into England's white-ball setup in a year which will see them defend the 50-over World Cup crown they won in 2019.

The 24-year-old has played just three white-ball games for England, having been drafted in for the ODI series against Pakistan in 2021 when they had to select an entirely new squad overnight due to a Covid outbreak.

"I massively want to get in that T20 and 50-overs side," Crawley told ESPNcricinfo, having impressed in his first overseas T20 franchise gig with the Hobart Hurricanes in Australia's Big Bash League.

"I've always actually found white-ball probably comes more naturally to me, but the red-ball has always been my priority and has always been my favourite format. It's the most rewarding and, in my eyes, the pinnacle of the sport.

Crawley cites England legend Kevin Pietersen as an inspiration (Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

"Obviously it's going to be hard to compete with those white-ball guys. But I don't regret not playing more T20 cricket…because I'm where I want to be in terms of the Test stuff. But I feel like the blend is actually easier than people make out."

And Crawley is taking inspiration from former England captain Kevin Pietersen, adding: "I want to be remembered as someone [where people say] 'oh geez, Zak's coming in to bat now, I'm gonna go watch on the TV'.

"Or you know there was that line that all the bars were empty when Kevin Pietersen was batting. I just thought that was such a cool thing to say about someone when I was growing up and I thought, that's what I want."

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