Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks
The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from captain Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, 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 press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment after England suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of something special going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three Tests.
A loss will extend the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle will be completed in only 11 days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
