Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments
England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener made 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome 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 Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings 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 fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
