Zak Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments
The English opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by skipper Stokes about the team environment not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several interviews in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, the captain noted he had let his message to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, following Crawley made a knock of 85 on the fourth 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 everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain made the "weak men" comment after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a break to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous three years in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, unchanged," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this Test."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting total of 435 runs.
This means, Australia need just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series is set to be decided in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also triumphed in eleven days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"It's disheartening," said the batsman. "We came here to win 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 difficult. Australia is a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's innings in the third Test likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in the team's second innings on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a fifty and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman in over a century – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise from the outside. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
