Kent’s Zak Crawley returned to the England side for the first time on their Indian tour for the “ill-fated” Third Test in Ahmedabad with his first Test fifty on the sub-continent and an innings that left Kent coach Matt Walker full of admiration for his young opener.

In the first of our exclusive mid-winter catch ups with the Kent coach, he’s been reflecting on Crawley’s return to the Test side. “We’re all really thrilled for him,” the coach admitted.

“I spoke to him before the Test started and he was frustrated by the situation that he probably has never found himself in before in his young career being injured which kept him out of the first two Test matches. But Zak being Zak, he looked like he didn’t miss a beat when he came back in that first innings where he played beautifully.”

“I thought he looked a class apart actually, putting pressure back on the opposition very quickly, timing the ball beautifully – he hit the ball very hard and looked in great touch.”

“It wasn’t easy for him missing those first two matches sitting there watching things unfold in front of you having been part of that side for near enough almost a year – to miss out isn’t easy; it’s a new experience for him and he’s obviously worked very hard in the build-up to the game.”

“I thought it was a fantastic innings in a very difficult Test match for England where there weren’t many highlights with the bat. That will give him a good amount of confidence after the tough time he had in Sri Lanka and will give him a huge boost.”

“It will go down as an extraordinary Test match – a game that finishes in under two days – but I’m just pleased for Zak as he finished last season off with such a flurry.”

“A lot has been said and talked about his innings against Pakistan, and now it’s the start of a new year and it was a tough start. But now he’s back in the side and played the way he did at the back end of last summer – very free flowing and very positive.”

“Every Test match is a huge occasion and very important – it’s a huge challenge for Zak, any young player who is playing in the sub-continent for the first time in a Test series for the first time against one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the world.”

“It’s going to be a real test and you’ve got to keep remembering that he is still a young player – he doesn’t look it when you look at him bat, and that’s the thing, he looks so at home in that environment.”

“He is learning and is going to go through periods, but he will still play like he did in that first innings which was extremely impressive to a lot of people.”

“He’ll be frustrated that he didn’t go on and make a bigger score after making the great start he got, but in the grand scheme of things, that fifty was probably worth a lot more in some very tricky conditions.”

Keep checking Kent Sports News this week as Matt Walker gives us his exclusive thoughts on who will replace Sam Billings as Kent captain whilst he’s playing in the IPL, the possibility of a second overseas signing and his thoughts on the return of fans this coming season.