Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments
England opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he commented: "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," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained consistent with their prior three years in charge.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
