James Anderson praised a “brilliantly intelligent” innings from England opener Zak Crawley on the first day of the second Test against South Africa.
Crawley, without a half-century in 14 Test innings, crucially soaked up intense South African pressure with 17 not out from 77 deliveries.
It helped England recover from 43-3 to 111-3 in reply to the Proteas’ 151 all out at Old Trafford.
“He played exactly how we needed him to play,” said pace bowler Anderson.
Crawley’s dogged resistance – this was by far his…