persist

Crawley began the Ashes series with a pair in the first Test in Perth, facing only 11 deliveries in the match.

Since then he has made scores of 76 and 44 in the second Test in Brisbane, and a battling 85 in the second innings of the third Test in Adelaide.

The Kent man’s 37 at the beginning of England’s run-chase in the fourth Test in Melbourne was vital to the tourists recording their first victory in Australia for 15 years and cutting the series deficit to 3-1.

“Zak Crawley frustrates the life out of me,” said Vaughan, who captained England to their famous Ashes triumph of 2005.

“His concentration levels are not the strongest. If you go to the start of the series where he played the big booming drives, those drives have gone away now. He’s not chasing the ball outside off stump.

“But today I was watching him and that should not get you out as a quality opening batter.”

In Sydney, Crawley returned to the ground where he made an impressive 77 in the fourth Test of England’s previous Ashes tour in 2021-22 – an innings that kickstarted his career.

He has now opened the batting in 103 Test innings and returned an average of 30.82 – the lowest of any batter in Test history to have as many opportunities at the top of the order.

But Vaughan, who made three centuries as an opener in England’s Ashes tour of 2002-03, believes England should persevere with Crawley in the aftermath of this latest series defeat in Australia.

“I hear fans around the world saying Crawley averages 30, but there’s a bigger average in him than he’s giving at the moment,” said Vaughan. “It’s just concentration.

“I know there is a lot more in the tank and I do think England have to stay with him.

“The movement he had today was fantastic but he needs to understand the concentration levels required at this kind of level to go on and average 40 to 45 over the course of the next two or three years.

“I think he could do if he can find that concentration.”

Dec. 20 (UPI) — A flood watch is in effect in the greater Portland area and large portions of western Oregon and southwestern Washington as rainy conditions continue.

The National Weather Service issued the flood watch on Saturday morning, which is in effect until 4 p.m. PST and follows a week of heavy rainfall, Oregon Live reported.

Local flooding is likeliest in urban areas and in locations with relatively little water drainage, and the day’s forecast calls for an 80% chance of rainfall during the morning hours.

The Sandy and Clackamas rivers are especially vulnerable to flooding, and at least one person has died as many roads in western Oregon became covered by landslides and other weather-related damage, according to OPB.

“The Clackamas River in the last 24 hours, we’ve been seeing 3 to 4 inches [of rain] and in some cases even higher amounts southeast of Estacada,” NWS meteorologist Sebastian Westerink told OPB on Friday.

“Those amounts are certainly contributing to the rapid rise of the river,” he added.

Despite the continued rainy weather, most local evacuation orders were lifted on Friday in areas along and near the Clackamas River, KATU reported.

The river set a new record when it crested at 26.25 feet during the early morning hours on Friday. The prior record was 25.52 feet in 1972.

The rainy weather likely will continue through Sunday as a cool and moist airmass covers much of the region.

Hundreds of local residents have evacuated the area, and some flood waters have started to recede but many bodies of water will remain higher than normal into Sunday, NWS forecasters said.

Some, though, took advantage of rare whitewater kayaking opportunities afforded by the week’s weather.

Many traveled to Gladstone’s High Rocks Park, where local waters were flowing at a very high rate on Friday and could continue doing so through the weekend.