Crawley Unaware of Captain Stokes' Provocative 'Weak Men' Remarks
The English opening batter Crawley has indicated he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered this message in multiple conversations following England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes against Australia previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
But, after Crawley made 85 on the penultimate 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 media with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to England suffered a loss in Brisbane to fall 2-0 down.
The team afterwards went on a holiday to Noosa in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he revealed his players had held "raw" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain alive in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous tenure in charge.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with great liberty. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
Defeat will extend the English team's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth straight away Ashes series loss.
This series is set to be decided 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 Ashes urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"It's disappointing," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been tough. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
While Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his immediate place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test on Boxing Day.
Pope fell for 17 in the team's second knock on day four, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Amiss – has played as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has produced some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope amongst the players," he finished.
