Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments
England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations following England's loss in the second Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" within the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. We take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before this match, he revealed his players 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.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable three-nil advantage with three Tests.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in just eleven days of play – after England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. Australia have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. Australia is a very, very good side. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although the opener's innings in Adelaide 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.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns against the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has never made a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is under the microscope originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "He has had a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There is no discussion of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.