Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments
England opener Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third matches.
Before this match, he revealed his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – with England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
Not since 1921, when Australia completed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disheartening," admitted the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley finished.
