Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks
England opener Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Stokes regarding the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, Crawley asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's winless run in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"We all know of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
