Zak Crawley learning as he goes as he bids to cement England Test place

Day one of the third Test saw Crawley stand firm on an uncertain pitch for bowlers and batsmen

Zak Crawley played a watchful knock to get England off to a solid start (Getty)

Pro-active technical adjustments and ditching his natural attacking game for a more watchful one. For a player hailed as a Twenty20 starlet, Zak Crawley showed plenty of Test match quality as he brought up a career best score at St George’s Park.

Day one of the third Test against South Africa saw Crawley stand firm on an uncertain pitch for bowlers and batsmen. His 44 came from 137 balls graft, part of which contributed to a key opening stand of 70 with Dom Sibley.

There were moments of flourish – five fours struck crisply when the seamers dropped shot and when the spinner, Keshan Maharaj, erred too full and was worked through midwicket – but mostly of refrain. This fourth innings – a third in his preferred position as opener – was the product of learnings from Cape Town where he played as a last-minute replacement for the injured Rory Burns. Test scores of one, four, 25 and, now, 44 suggest steady improvement that was clear to see.

“It’s probably against my natural game,” he said of this innings that exceeded three hours. “I’m quite a free-scorer usually. If I had the choice I’d be a free-scorer but if you’re playing for England you’ve got to play the situation. I was more than happy to block a few out there today

“I’m definitely feeling more comfortable now. The first couple of games I was feeling very nervous and trying to find my way a bit. Now I feel I can trust my game a bit. If I can play well I know my game might be good enough for this level. I’ve got a little bit more belief in myself now.

“I’m learning every game, I made a couple of mistakes in Cape Town and learnt a lot. If I can keep learning like that hopefully I’ll improve.”

The learnings, by the way, came specifically against Philander, who dismissed him caught behind in the second Test, before falling to Kagiso Rabada in the second innings. A change of technique allowed him a better gauge of where he was batting: what he could leave and what he could play.

“I tried to go more off-stump to help me leave well and it didn’t really work so I’ve come a bit more leg-side. When I got out they had a very leg side field so I was trying to open it up to the off-side more.”

Nevertheless, he was not keen to indulge the encouraging signs. “I think I played well but it was very disappointing to get out the way I did.” That, to be fair, is true: an aerial flick to backward square leg off Anrich Nortje resulting in an acrobatic catch that had England 103 for two.

The next step, though, does not feel too far off. A hundred, he believes, is about being able to face “180-plus balls”. His 137 is a step in the right direction to what would be a maiden in Test cricket and only a fourth in first-class cricket overall.

His hope, in the immediate term at least, is for unbeaten batsmen Ben Stokes (38 not out) and Ollie Pope (39 not out) to boost England’s overnight score of 224 for four, along with the other five to come. Their partnership of 76 helped secure the day for the visitors.

“I think it was a very good day for us in the end, Popey and Stokesy played brilliantly at the end to put us in a good position going into tomorrow. If we can get in the late 300s, that’s a very good score on this pitch. It’s only going to get worse from there and continue to spin quite a bit.”