Opener buried his natural instincts to amass 44 from 137 balls on a slow wicket in Port Elizabeth to lay a solid base for rest of England’s batsmen
![England’s Zak Crawley shows right qualities despite finding going tough | Chris Stocks](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a64a31436966230bae10b9281eeb1b00893c68a9/0_493_4968_2980/master/4968.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=9a080489f7b76c74d7722ec867ceb8e7)
For Zak Crawley, after three hours and 23 minutes of hard graft in the searing Port Elizabeth heat, the disappointment at missing out on a maiden Test half-century was palpable.
Yet his innings of 44 from 137 balls played a major part in helping
England end the opening day of this third Test ahead of the game given the spin and variable bounce – illustrated by the Kagiso Rabada delivery that kept low to bowl the England captain, Joe Root – that this slow pitch has shown during the first 90 overs.