Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Captain Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Comments
The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments made by captain Stokes about the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder made those words in several conversations in the wake of England's defeat in the second match of the Ashes series versus the Australians earlier this month.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "drift around" among the squad.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I needed to have done," remarked the England leader.
However, after the opener made a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "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 a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
Stokes issued his "weak men" observation after England suffered a loss in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad afterwards took a holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their battle to remain in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the guidance from the captain and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their previous tenure in leadership.
"It's been extremely upbeat, the same as always," said Crawley. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
Australia Close of Rapid Series Victory
Crawley's wicket on day four was part of a decisive triple-strike by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's triple strike in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Brook and Ben Stokes – left the chasing side 207-6 in pursuit of a notional total of 435 runs.
Consequently, the home team require just four more wickets on the last day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 advantage with three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's winless run in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth straight overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in just eleven days of cricket – with England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia completed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"It's disappointing," said Crawley. "We came here to win the Ashes and we're facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They were the favourites and they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Place In Question
Although Crawley's performance in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate place in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in England's second knock on day four, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across 16 Ashes innings, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player in over a century – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and recorded a poorer average.
But, the opener insisted any notion his teammate 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," added he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year if I'm honest."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is noise from the outside. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," Crawley concluded.