Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks
The English opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple interviews in the wake of his team's defeat in the second Ashes series against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain stated he had let his sentiment to "drift around" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal on day four was part of a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435.
Consequently, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be tough coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although the opener's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the England team, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion like that on Ollie in the camp," he finished.
