Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments
The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of statements made by skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
