Crawley Unaware of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks
The English opener Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with comments from captain Stokes about the team environment as no place for "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes series versus Australia earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss with a match to spare, Stokes noted he had allowed his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked Stokes.
However, after the opener scored a knock of 85 on the fourth day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"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.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" comment after his side were beaten in Brisbane to go two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, Stokes revealed his team had held "honest" conversations and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to stay in contention in the series.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, unchanged," said Crawley. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do something special going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic Series Victory
The opener's dismissal late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner'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 runs.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an insurmountable three-nil advantage after three matches played.
Defeat will extend England's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes defeat.
The current battle is set to be decided in just 11 days of play – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disheartening," admitted Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There remains plenty to play for and we will definitely view it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably hard coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
While Crawley's innings in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, Pope has failed to score a fifty and averages just 17.62.
Only one other English batsman in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a lower average.
But, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – referring to the press – "not inside the camp."
"We all know how good of a player he is," said he. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. It is talk externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie amongst the players," Crawley concluded.
