Zak Crawley signs Kent contract extension

Zak Crawley has signed a one-year contract extension at Kent, putting speculation around his future at the club on hold.

Crawley is a centrally-contracted England player but his county deal was due to expire at the end of the 2022 season. With his England future in the balance after a poor run of form this summer - he has averaged 16.40 across five home Tests in 2022 - it is unclear whether he will retain his England contract, despite public backing from Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

He publicly criticised Kent's home pitches at the start of the year but has continued to struggle on significantly flatter ones this year: his County Championship average in 2022 is 24.25, less than half of the other members of Kent's first-choice top three in Ben Compton and Daniel Bell-Drummond.

But he has opted to stay at Canterbury for at least another season, signing a year-long extension with Kent and becoming the latest player to commit to the club after Sam Billings and Grant Stewart agreed extensions at the end of July.

"I'm a Kent lad through and through so to put pen to paper on a contract extension is really exciting for me," Crawley said in a Kent media release. "We have been through a lot together as a squad over the past couple of years and we're all working hard to keep improving as a side."

Paul Downton, Kent's director of cricket, said: "Zak is a high-class batter who can dominate opposition attacks and I am delighted that he has extended his contract with Kent.

"It's been great to see his journey through the Kent ranks to being part of an exciting England Test team. He's an extremely hard worker and I have no doubt that he will have a long and successful international career. I'm also looking forward to seeing him score a lot of runs for Kent whenever he has the opportunity."