Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments
England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series against the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and third Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on the final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss will extend England's drought in this country to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted 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 like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
