Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Comments
England opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple interviews following his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, following the opener scored 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 media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a break to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – meant the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead after three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion his teammate is under the microscope originates with "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There is no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley finished.
