GEORGE DOBELL: The Test coach looks set to stick with Zak Crawley for the second South Africa Test at Old Trafford, after insisting his contribution to the team goes beyond scoring runs. The Kent batter averages 15.64 in his seven most recent Tests
Brendon McCullum has urged England to "go harder" in the remaining Tests of the series against South Africa and suggested they will keep faith with Zak Crawley despite a modest run of form.
McCullum, the head coach of the England Test team, oversaw a successful approach in the first four Tests of the summer playing an aggressive style of cricket which resulted in some thrilling run-chases.
At Lord's, however, against an excellent South African bowling attack and in conditions providing assistance to bowlers, McCullum felt England may have been just a little hesitant.
So while one or two wickets fell to relatively aggressive strokes, he suggested the team would have benefited from a more attacking approach which could have changed field settings and forced bowlers to reassess their plans.
As a result, he will be urging them to remember what brought them success against New Zealand and India and attempt to recreate it against South Africa. The second Test starts at Emirates Old Trafford on Thursday (August 25).
"One message will be 'can we go a little harder?'," McCullum said as he reflected on the game. "That will be the approach and the language that we use in the dressing room.
Lord's represented another failure for Crawley (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
"Did we go hard enough with our approach? Could we maybe go a little harder and try to turn some pressure back on the opposition as well?
"When the game was in the balance and a couple of spells from their boys were testing, we could maybe have been a little braver to be able to turn some pressure back on the opposition in both innings.
"But it's always the way, right? You have to try to absorb pressure at times and get yourself back to a position of parity to then put some pressure back on the opposition. We weren't able to do that.
"South Africa had some reasonably helpful conditions with the toss, which is fair enough. We did what we could in those conditions but weren't quite able to get enough runs in the first innings.
"But they were able to bowl some very demanding spells and bowled some outstanding deliveries to get some of our world-class players out. You look at it and see a huge margin but I look back on those four Test matches and we were in similar situations to what we found ourselves in, in this Test match. Only this time we weren't quite able to come out of it."
"You want opposition sides around the world to know when the tail comes in you're going to go after them. You want to try and make it uncomfortable out there and hopefully, that will bear the results"
McCullum's consistency as coach appears to extend to selection. Despite Crawley averaging just 15.64 in his seven most recent Tests, it seems there is every chance he will retain his place in the side.
"I look at a guy like Zak and his skill set is not to be a consistent cricketer," McCullum said. "He's not that type of player but he is put in that situation because he has a game which means, when he gets going, he can win matches for England.
"We have got to be really positive around the language we use with him and be really consistent with the selections around that as well, and keep giving guys opportunities.
"Would he be better taken out of the firing line? That's not how I think. You want to keep giving guys opportunities, right? Then, their skill and talent can come out. I thought he looked quite composed until he got out.
"He's a talent, and there are not too many of those guys floating around. He's still learning his game at this level and that's ok, that's going to take a bit of patience and a bit of persistence as well.
"There have been some fine players over the years who have had periods where they haven't quite nailed it as well but then have ended up as great commodities for their sides. We have just got to work that out but I believe in him, that's for sure.
England's tactics to the South Africa tail drew criticism (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
"He's a tough fella, Zak. He loves doing what he's doing, playing for England and you will see him around the group and with the contributions he makes inside the dressing room. There's stuff that goes beyond runs.
"I think selection loyalty is really important because not only does it build loyalty with the guys that are in the side but also it builds loyalty for the guys on the outside knowing that when their time and their opportunity does come they are going to be afforded the same sort of loyalty."
McCullum also sought to justify England's short-ball approach to opposition tailenders. It appeared to backfire at Lord's, with South Africa plundering 72 in 12 overs for the seventh wicket to take the game beyond England. In a low-scoring game, it was a crucial period of play.
"Sometimes you pitch it up and you get smacked as well," McCullum said. "You've got to settle on something and for us, it's a positive option. You want opposition sides around the world to know when the tail comes in you're going to go after them. You want to try and make it uncomfortable out there and hopefully, that will bear the results.
"It doesn't always work but it's an approach that, if you have total buy-in, can work. It puts pressure on the opposition's top order too, because they know their lower order could be under pressure.
"I guess in the end you've got to make decisions and tactical plays which you think will work. It doesn't mean they're going to work but you've got to make decisions that you think will work and try and be consistent with the implementation of them."
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