Zak Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Frail Characters' Remarks
England opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. We take anything stated in the media with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "weak men" comment subsequent to England were beaten in Brisbane to fall two matches behind.
The team afterwards went on a break to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he revealed his team had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to remain in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, play our way, with great liberty. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia Close of Historic Series Victory
The opener's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth straight overseas Ashes loss.
The current battle will be completed in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests 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 urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted the batsman. "Our goal was 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 definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was always going to be hard touring here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in Adelaide probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 runs in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the journalists – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk from the outside. There is no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," Crawley concluded.
