Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments
The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second Ashes versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was inevitably tough coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term place in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
