England cricketer Zak Crawley was shocked after he was made the captain for the three-match ODI series against Ireland, starting on September 20 as well. However, the veteran batter hoped that he was hoping to merely get into the ODI team and regain his spot permanently also. With the 2023 World Cup around the corner, England have named a second-string squad for the ODI series against Ireland as well.

He added: “Yeah, I was shocked. I was just hoping to get into the team and play more for England, but they told me I was captain and it’s a great opportunity for me. It was Motty [head coach Matthew Mott] who gave me the call to say I’d be in the squad and captaining. It was as simple as that. He was doing the rounds phoning everyone else, so it was a pretty brief phone call but a pretty good call.”

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However, the 25-year-old had been in sublime form during the 2023 Ashes series as he mustered 480 runs in nine innings at an average of 53.33. His form got down in The Hundred for the London Spirit, managing only 65 runs in seven innings at an average of 13 as well.

“We all know how this England white-ball team has played over the past eight years. We know how to get into the main team, it’s by being aggressive, showing people what skill and quality you have. That’s what we should all try to do this week. To have him in the side as a batsman and former captain is going to be tremendously useful for me and the team. No-one works harder than Joe, that’s why he’s the best. We all try to emulate him as much as we can. He’s a great person to learn from and a role model for us all,” Zak Crawley concluded.