Crawley passes 50 as rain-hit second Test drawn
Zak Crawley struck a half-century as England and Pakistan played out a tame draw in their rain-hit second Test at the Rose Bowl on Monday.
Only 134.3 overs were possible in the entire match, including a 38 over spell late on the fifth afternoon as the sun finally arrived, with England finishing on 110 for four before the game was called off without prospect of successful.
Crawley scored 53, his third Test half-century, before he was out leg before wicket to Mohammad Abbas (2-28) having placed on 91 with Dom Sibley (32) for the next wicket, both gaining precious time at the crease prior to the third and final Test that starts at the same venue on Friday.
Opener Rory Burns (0) and Ollie Pope (9) were the other two batsmen dismissed.
"We were excited about this week, so it is disappointing never to get much cricket in," England captain Joe Root said at the post-match presentation.
"But I thought Zak was excellent today, that partnership (with Sibley) was high class on an extremely difficult surface."
Root said the selectors will look at the full squad before deciding on who starts the 3rd Test, with fast bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood sitting on the sidelines.
"All the guys are actually in contention for the next one, we will see where we are (physically) tomorrow. We will also take the surface into consideration."
Pakistan had won the toss and elected to bat, posting 236 within their first innings, a total that their captain Azhar Ali felt was competitive.
"It has been frustrating for both teams, the game was create quite nicely as the conditions were best for bowling throughout," he said.
"We spoke about taking on the task of batting first and we fought really hard. The England bowling attack is brilliant, however the guys stuck to the duty.
"The best thing from the Test is we did not need to bowl much. It really is a big test coming up and we want every person to be fresh and ready."
England won the first Test in Manchester by three wickets.
