Zak Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Controversial 'Weak Men' Remarks
The English opening batter Crawley suggested he had no knowledge of comments from skipper Stokes regarding the dressing room not being "those lacking fortitude".
The all-rounder delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's defeat in the second match of the Ashes versus the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where the visitors now face a series loss at the earliest opportunity, the captain noted he had let his sentiment to "drift around" among the squad.
"I have completed all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," said the England leader.
But, after the opener scored 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, 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 press with a pinch of salt," he added.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
Stokes made the "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to fall 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently took a holiday to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and third matches.
Before the Adelaide contest, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had urged them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay in contention in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman stated the messaging from Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do an extraordinary feat entering this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Historic 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 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England six down for 207 chasing a daunting target of 435 runs.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on the final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
This series will be completed in only 11 days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been decided more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other occasions in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," admitted Crawley. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. Australia is a very, very good side. It was inevitably tough coming here against them. They entered as the favourites coming in to it they've proven why."
Ollie Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's innings in the third Test probably answers doubts about his immediate future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under immense pressure for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
Pope fell for 17 runs in the team's second innings on day four, extending his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion 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 good year to be frank."
"He has played several excellent innings. This is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature regarding Pope in the camp," he finished.