England have found themselves a real talent in Zak Crawley after scoring 267 in the Third Test against Pakistan at the Ageas Bowl.

The 22 year old former Tonbridge School pupil and Sevenoaks Vine batsman will be an unfamiliar name across the cricketing world, but he’s certainly made a name for himself in the past two days.

Showing class way beyond his years, Crawley batted beautifully to go into the top ten England scores of all time, up there alongside greats such as Hammond, Gooch and Gower.

Brought on at Canterbury under the stewardship of the likes of Simon Willis and Matt Walker, Crawley is quiet, unassuming and a gentle giant, but he certainly packs a punch with his batting.

Flaying a decent Pakistan attack to all parts of the Ageas Bowl, the 22 year old was left to reflect on a career best score that will undoubtedly set England up for a Test win.

Crawley spoke on day one about the rush of emotion he felt when reaching three figures for the first time in international cricket but appeared more settled as he ticked off even loftier landmarks.

“I wasn’t as nervous in the 190s as I was in the 90s!” he told Sky Sports at close of play. “I couldn’t have dreamed of a better score than that when the game started. I’m absolutely delighted.”

Asked about joining England’s ‘top 10’ in just his eighth Test appearance, keeping company with the likes of Sir Len Hutton, Sir Wally Hammond, Graham Gooch and Sir Alastair Cook, he was suitably awed.

For Jos Buttler the day was the culmination of a much-needed upturn in form, ending a two-year wait for a second Test ton, but he was happy to cast the spotlight on the 22-year-old who led what was the joint sixth biggest England stand in history.

“I thoroughly enjoyed that partnership with Zak. It’s a pleasure to watch him from the other end,” he said.

“He hits the ball incredibly hard, has shots all around the wicket and he’s a great kid to bat with. It’s the start of a very special career.

“He’s going to score a few more hundreds for England, no doubt. This will give him a huge amount of confidence, but an innings of that magnitude will give him so much more belief. He’s got a level head too and he won’t get ahead of himself.”

While Crawley’s career now enters a new dimension – it was, bear in mind, just two games ago that he was left out of the XI – Buttler is at a different stage.

Just a few weeks ago he accepted feeling under pressure for his place, with suggestions he may be better served by focusing on white-ball cricket.

This display proved his Test credentials beyond doubt and left him strangely thankful for the enforced period of isolation caused by the coronavirus.

“A couple of games ago I was thinking I was about to get dropped so it just proves that you’re never far away,” he said.

“You’ve got to maintain that belief in yourself. I’ve certainly questioned myself in the last few weeks, but I’ve found a good head space to hang in there.

“It’s very humbling indeed,” he said. “I certainly don’t see myself anywhere near their calibre but hopefully I can build on this.”

“I worked on a few things during the period of lockdown and it was good to reflect on my batting and some things I needed to improve.”

Crawley most likely won’t need to bat again in this game, but has clearly done enough to secure that number three berth in the England team for some time to come.