Zak Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Comments
The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered those words in multiple conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where the visitors now face defeat with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side were beaten in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and third Tests.
Prior to this match, he said his team had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain alive in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been extremely upbeat, the same as always," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Ashes Triumph
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team need just four more wickets on the final day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's drought in this country to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in 11 days on two other instances in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was always going to be hard coming here against them. They entered as the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers doubts about his short-term place in the England team, Pope looks under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, the opener said any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the press – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is talk from the outside. There's no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
