An elegant leg-side hitter and player of spin bowling, a lack of off-side shots hampered his international career, as did injury.
He enjoyed a rejuvenation in 2002 when he joined Hampshire, following legal battles with Lancashire, and celebrated his recall to the England team with a Test century at Lord's.
Upon announcing his retirement in 2009 he was hailed as "one of the most prolific batsmen in county cricket for nearly two decades" and is regarded alongside his contemporaries Graeme Hick and Mark Ramprakash as a hugely talented player, though one who failed to realise his full potential at international level.
[1] Crawley played cricket while at Manchester Grammar School where he broke a number of batting records previously held by Mike Atherton.
Crawley played as a paid amateur for Farnworth CC in the Bolton League before moving on to bigger things with Lancashire County Cricket Club.
The tourists' team had included Shane Warne and Merv Hughes, and Crawley's performance moved the Australian coach Bob Simpson to label him the best batsman they had played against that summer.
Crawley announced on 8 August 2009 that at the end of the 2009 County Championship he would be retiring from all forms of first-class cricket, stating he did not want to stand in the way of emerging talent at Hampshire.
[5] In 2015, he joined the academic staff at Oundle School in Northamptonshire, teaching History and acting as Master in Charge of cricket.