Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments
England opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes regarding the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
Stokes made this message in multiple interviews following England's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"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 Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" 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 remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant the chasing side six down for 207 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive overseas Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – after England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "the media" – referring to the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
