Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Remarks
The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from captain Ben Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians earlier this month.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," said Stokes.
But, following the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"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," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and coach McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of something special entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 chasing a daunting total of 435.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on the last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
A loss would prolong England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – after England fell the initial matches in rapid time respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While the opener's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 in England's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, Pope has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
However, the opener insisted any notion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.
