Zak Crawley tried, but there was a familiar underwhelming tenor to English batting.
On the eve of the final Test of the long five-match series that they had already lost, England captain Ben Stokes had tried his best, not to sound like someone who wanted the ordeal to end and head home. “It’s been a long tour. It’s a great ground to have one last big push. We have a lot of fans coming here,” he had said.
About 24 hours later that “one last big push” was conspicuous by its absence. Lacking in intensity and drive to stay at the crease or pursue the team’s bold Bazballing goals, England batsmen seemed to be in a hurry to be on the flight back home, already thinking of last-minute gifts to pick for the family.
