Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Remarks
England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Ben Stokes about the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes stated he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
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 between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from Stokes and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong 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 is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – after England losing the first two Tests 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 Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a half-century and averages 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in the Ashes and returned a poorer average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added he. "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," Crawley finished.
