Crawley Scare As Key Opens Test Door

The injury comes just four days before the start of the second Test in Adelaide.

Crawley suffered the injury while hitting a determined 55 spanning 276 minutes at the crease to help England earn a draw on the final day of their match against Australia A at the Bellerive Oval.

Robert Key led England's rescue act with an unbeaten century.

Crawley sustained his injury mistiming a pull facing seamer Brad Williams, but batted on with the aid of Michael Vaughan as a runner for the five overs up to the tea interval.

He failed to return for the final session and is expected to receive treatment from physio Kirk Russell over the next 24 hours, although England claim he is not a doubt for the second Test in Adelaide starting on Thursday.

Crawley played his part in ensuring the tourists did not suffer a costly loss in the run-up to the Test, sharing a 176-run fourth-wicket stand with Key after they had resumed still 74 adrift on 96 for three having been forced to follow on.

Key dominated the stand and finished unbeaten on 174, putting himself in prime position to replace Crawley in Adelaide should he fail to recover from his injury.

Key hit 18 boundaries and eclipsed his previous best first class score of 160 recorded for Kent against Hampshire at Canterbury last season.

Once Crawley retired neither Andrew Flintoff (15) nor Craig White (2) convinced with the bat as they battled against each other for the all-rounder's position before acting captain Marcus Trescothick ended the match by declaring England's innings at 310 for five.