Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Remarks
The English opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The team subsequently took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "honest" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team need four wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of play – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable 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."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his modest returns against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
But, the opener said any notion Pope is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
