England won't underestimate 'class' Pakistan batting line-up: Zak Crawley

PAK vs ENG: Zak Crawley said that England are aware of Pakistan's batting strength despite their failure in the recent Test series against Bangladesh.

In Short

• Pakistan recently lost 2-0 to Bangladesh at home
• Zak Crawley said that England can’t take Pakistan’s batting line-up lightly
• England’s Test series against Pakistan starts on October 7

Zak Crawley said that England are wary of the threat that Pakistan’s batting line-up is likely to pose in the upcoming three-match Test series, starting October 7. Crawley missed the Test series against Sri Lanka after fracturing his finger during the series against the West Indies.

In his place, it was Dan Lawrence, who opened the batting against Sri Lanka. Crawley, however, has made a return for the upcoming Test series. Crawley said that Pakistan have some quality batters, who can be match-winners and hence, asked England to be on their toes.

“As a batter myself, I know that form comes and goes, but class never leaves you. That batting line-up of Pakistan is a class batting line-up. We don’t underestimate them. There are guys in there who can take the game away from you. So, we are going to be at our best to get them out and win the series,” Crawley said in a press conference.

Crawley had a decent outing in England’s last tour of Pakistan two years ago. In three matches, the right-handed batter scored 235 runs at an average of 39.16 and a strike-rate of 91.79 with a top score of 122 to his name.

‘Babar Azam is a graceful player’

Crawley also said that Babar Azam isn’t out of form and that England need to be on top of their game to dismiss the ‘graceful’ batter.

“I would never say that Babar Azam is out of form. The way he plays is beautiful, he is a graceful player. He’s a class act and we have to be at our best to get him out,” Crawley added.

Babar was the third-highest run-scorer in the 2022 Test series against England, scoring 348 runs at an average of 58. But Babar, who recently stepped down as Pakistan’s limited-overs skipper, hasn’t scored a Test fifty since January 2023.