John Crawley wasn't everyone's first choice for the final batting slot against Australia. It was widely assumed that Glenn McGrath would exploit his weakness outside off stump, and his travails so far on the tour had led to suggestions that Robert Key would nip ahead of him for the Brisbane Test. And yet, Crawley responded with a vital 69 not out from No. 5 – an innings that shepherded England past the follow-on in much the manner that Mark Ramprakash perfected in 1998-99. But, as our graph demonstrates, Crawley's innings was, once again, predominantly one-sided. He scored 75% of his runs on the leg side, with 34 of them coming from nudges off the pads or fine sweeps off the spinners. Apart from one spanking cover-drive against Jason Gillespie, Crawley's only off-side boundary was a chancy steer over the slips, off Andy Bichel.

By playing to his strengths, Crawley was able to gloss over his weaknesses, so proving that his method can be successful against Australia. And, crucially for England's prospects in this series, he managed to score his runs in his first innings of the match. As the Wisden Wizard demonstrates, in four series against Australia – three of them away from home – Crawley has mustered just 248 first-innings runs. He started well enough, with 72 at Sydney in January 1995, but since then his returns have been horrible, with seven single-figure scores in 12 attempts.

It is too early to judge whether Crawley has the weaponry to succeed at the third attempt in Australia. But this innings is just the boost he needed.

Click here for Crawley's first-innings record against Australia

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