Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments
England opener Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of statements from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team subsequently went on a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell β including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes β left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket β after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 β Dennis Amiss β has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" β referring to the journalists β "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he concluded.
