Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Remarks
England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in multiple interviews in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
However, after Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell β he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself β left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket β with England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century β Dennis Amiss β has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" β referring to the journalists β "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. It is noise externally. There's no discussion like that regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
