Zak Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks
The English opening batter Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from skipper Ben Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in several interviews following his team's loss in the second Ashes series against Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the third Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had let his sentiment to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I have completed all the talking in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Steady Philosophy
The captain made the "fragile individuals" comment subsequent to England suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes revealed his players had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "display some fight" in their battle to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in charge.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do something special entering this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
This means, the home team require four wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England fell the first two Tests in two and four days respectively.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There remains plenty to play for and we'll definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a formidable team. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They were the front-runners coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide probably answers questions about his short-term place in the side, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his position in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages 17.62.
Only one other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a poorer average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – referring to 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 talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," he concluded.
