Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Remarks
The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by captain Ben Stokes about the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener made a knock of 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. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, Australia require four wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead after three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's performance in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any suggestion Pope is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know 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. It is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
