Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments
England opener Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following England's defeat in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, he revealed his players had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal on day four came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good 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 Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
